Cl'-'ii^isS'^ 


<xs^ 


^.rfs^:^^*^;. 


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■•.<%>w. 


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I 


EVERY-DAY 


ERRORS  OF  SPEECH 


BY 

L.    P.    MEREDITH,    M.D.,   D.D.S., 

AUTHOH  OF   "the  TEETH,  AND   HOW  TO   SAVE  THEM." 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.   B.  LIPPINCOTT   &   CO. 

18  72. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year,  1872,  by 
L.  P.  MEREDITH, 

Jn  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


IIS^TRODUCTIOI^. 


Damns.  *  *  *  The  Prince  of  Como  does  not 
understand  his  own  language. 

Melnotte.  Not  as  you  pronounce  it :  Who  the 
deuce  could? 


It  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  commendable 
peculiarities  of  the  English  language  that,  despite 
provincialisms,  vulgarisms,  neglected  education,  for- 
eign accent,  and  the  various  corrupting  influences  to 
which  it  is  subjected,  it  may  be  understood  wher- 
ever it  is  heard,  whatever  differences  of  distance  or 
associations  may  have  existed  between  the  speaker 
and  the  listener,  both  claiming  familiarity  with  it. 
Considering  these  influences  and  the  arbitrariness  of 
the  orthoepical  rules  of  the  language,  there  has  been 
expressed' surprise  that  frequent  degenerations  into 
uncouth  dialects  or  patois  have  not  occurred.  A 
decent  regard  for  the  common  weal  should  cause 
gratification  that  such  degenerations  have  not  taken 
place,  for  were  it  not  for  the  ability  of  our  tongue 
to  preserve  its  individuality  against  the  tendency 
toward  corruption,  we  might  reasonably  fear  such  a 
Babel-like    confusion,  that,  when    asked,  "  Do  you 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

speak  English?"  one  might  appropriately,  scztjs  the 
profanity,  reply  in  the  language  of  the  text,  ''Not 
as  you  pronounce  it:  Who  the  deuce  could?"  While 
the  majority  of  people  place  no  other  value  upon 
language  than  that  of  convenience,  and  are  indiffer- 
ent to  any  corruption,  so  long  as  they  can  simply 
understand  and  be  understood,  there  is  happily  a 
better  class,  the  aesthetic  cultivation  of  which  is  such 
that  those  who  belong  to  it  are  anxious  to  preserve 
the  purity  of  our  vernacular  and  are  ashamed  of  all 
errors  of  speech  in  their  daily  conversations.  For 
such  it  will  not  be  uninteresting  to  look  over  a  num- 
ber of  errors,  principally  of  pronunciation,  that  are 
not  formally  laid  down  as  such  in  books,  and  which 
people,  even  many  of  the  best  educated,  are  con- 
stantly committing,  just  because  they  have  never  had 
their  attention  called  to  them.  These  errors  are  be- 
coming more  deeply  rooted  every  day,  and  if  not 
soon  eradicated,  it  will  not  be  many  years  before  our 
orthoepic  standard  will  be  overthrown  as  it  was  in 
England  some  years  ago. 

Smart,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  English  or- 
thoepists,  in  the  preface  of  his  dictionary  says:  "  The 
proprietors  of  Walker's  dictionary,  finding  it  would 
slide  entirely  out  of  use  unless  it  were  adapted  to 
the  present  day,  engaged  me  as  a  teacher  of  elocu- 
tion, known  in  London  since  Walker's  time,  to  make 
the  necessary  changes."  A  standard  pronouncing 
dictionary  is  a  work  that  involves  an  extraordinary 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

amount  of  labor  and  research  in  its  compilation, 
and  exerts  an  influence  almost  autocratical.  The 
possibility  of  its  becoming  worthless  in  a  short  time 
is  strange,  especially  when  it  is  not  on  account  of 
any  work  claiming  superiority,  but  merely  because 
error  long  persisted  in  finally  becomes  more  author- 
itative than  the  original  exemplar.  With  little  effort, 
however,  we  can  discern  the  causes.  Persons  are  apt 
to  acquire  the  pronunciation  and  use  of  the  greater 
number  of  words  by  imitation,  rather  than  by  study. 
With  confidence  in  the  knowledge  of  the  parent, 
teacher,  minister,  physician  and  others,  their  exam- 
ples are  followed  without  ever  considering  that  they 
are  often  very  fallible  guides. 

A  complete  dictionary  is  an  immense  volume,  and 
to  turn  over  its  pages  with  even  a  casual  observation 
of  each  word,  requires  an  amount  of  time  that  few 
would  feel  like  devoting  to  it ;  and  yet  this  is  the 
only  way  in  which  a  person  can  become  assured  of 
the  sanctioned  pronunciation  and  meaning  of  a  great 
many  words.  If  they  would  make  it  an  invariable 
rule  to  make  memoranda  of  all  the  words  they  read 
or  hear  spoken,  about  the  orthoepy  and  import  of 
which  they  are  not  absolutely  certain,  and  at  their 
first  leisure  opportunity  would  consult  their  chosen 
authority,  it  would  not  be  long  before  the  majority 
of  errors  would  be  corrected;  but  this  requires  mem- 
ory, inclination,  time,  continuity  of  purpose,  posses- 
sion of  dictionaries  or  access  to  them — circumstances 


1  INTRODUCTION. 

that  are  seldom  found  combined.  It  will  doubtless 
be  useless  to  rehearse  any  of  the  arguments  com- 
monly employed  to  prove  the  necessity  of  having 
some  sovereign  standard,  to  the  guidance  of  which  we 
must  be  willing  to  submit.  Those  for  whom  this 
work  is  intended  will  be  willing  to  admit  that.  Nor 
is  it  necessary  to  assert  that  as  far  as  the  English 
speakers  of  the  United  States  are  interested,  the  only 
works  that  lay  claim  to  such  a  position  are  the  dic- 
tionaries of  Webster  and  Worcester.  If  the  rig-ht 
of  the  opinions  of  the  majority  of  scholars  through- 
out the  land  were  alone  considered,  the  former  would 
certainly  be  entitled  to  the  preference;  but  the  work 
of  the  latter  is  too  full  of  merit  and  has  too  many 
adherents  in  the  ranks  of  the  educated  to  permit 
any  one  to  say  that  it  is  not  worthy  of  high  esteem. 
With  my  own  preference  for  the  former  and  with 
my  willingness  to  acknowledge  the  worth  of  the  lat- 
ter, I  have  consulted  both  authorities  concerning 
every  word  in  the  following  vocabulary — that  is, 
every  word  requiring  reference  to  either.  It  will  be 
seen  that  there  is  much  less  diflFerence  between  the 
decisions  of  the  two  dictionaries  than  is  commonly 
supposed.  By  this  reference  to  each,  I  have  not  only 
corrected  errors  in  an  impartial  manner,  but  have  also 
stopped  up  that  loop-hole  through  which  so  many  try 
to  escape  by  saying,  when  they  are  called  to  account 
according  to  one  dictionary,  that  they  do  not  accept 
that  as  their  standard.     As  far  as  the  people  of  this 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

country  are  concerned,  there  is  no  escape  from  the 
conclusion  that  a  person  is  considered  a  correct  or 
an  incorrect  speaker  of  English,  according  to  whether 
or  not  he  conforms  his  discourse  to  one  of  the  above 
mentioned  authorities.  At  first  glance  it  will  appear 
that  the  size  of  this  volume  is  not  at  all  commensu- 
rate to  the  task  of  correcting  the  many  errors  that 
are  heard  in  our  communication  with  all  classes  that 
pretend  to  speak  the  English  language.  It  is  not 
intended  to  instruct  those  whose  education  has  been 
so  neglected  that  they  are  guilty  of  the  grossest  vio- 
lation of  syntax  and  orthoepy,  nor  to  cultivate  the 
taste  of  those  whose  selection  of  words  and  cant  and 
slang  phrases  betrays  the  low  grade  of  the  associa- 
tions by  which  they  have  been  surrounded.  It  is 
desio-ned  rather  as  a  collection  of  the  more  common 
of  those  errors,  chiefly  orthoepical,  that  I  have  be- 
fore spoken  of  as  being  of  constant  occurrence  even 
among  people  of  education,  unless  they  have  paid 
considerable  attention  to  philology  or  belles-lettres. 
If  by  presenting  them  in  this  convenient  form,  thus 
saving  much  time  and  trouble  in  referring  to  the 
dictionary,  I  have  merited  the  thanks  of  my  readers, 
or  if  I  have  contributed  even  a  mite  toward  the  con- 
servation of  the  present  usage,  I  shall  feel  amply 
repaid. 

I  have  taken  advantage  of  the  alphabetical  arrange- 
ment to  intioduce  a  few  miscellaneous  errors  that 
might  have  been  placed  under  a  separate  heading. 


VIU  INTRODUCTION. 

Instead  of  dividing  the  words  into  syllables  and 
loading  them  with  marks  as  is  usually  done  in  dic- 
tionaries, I  have  thought  that  it  would  make  a  deep- 
er impression  on  the  memory  to  present  the  words 
as  they  are  conamonly  seen  in  print,  depending  on 
respelling  to  furnish  the  correct  and  incorrect  accent 
and  pronunciation. 

The  corrections  have  first  been  made  according  to 
Webster;  if  Worcester  is  unmentioned,  it  is  to  be 
understood  that  both  authorities  agree, 

Cincinnati  J  December  20   1871. 


KEY  TO  THE   PRONUNCIATION  OF  THE 
RESPELLING 


The  long  sounds  of  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  are  represented  by  a,  e,  T,  5,  u. 

The  sliort  sounds  of  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  '  "    a,  6,  i,  6,  tl. 

a,  as  in  air,  pair,  is  represented  by  a. 

a,      "  far,  arm,  '*  "  a  or  ah. 

a,      "  all,  haul,  "  "  aw. 

a,      "  what,  squat,  "  "  6. 

e,      "  ere,  ivhere,  "  '*  e. 

e,      "  obey,  weight,  "  "a. 

e,      "  her,  term,  "■  "  e. 

i,      "  machine,  "  "  e  or  ee. 

i,      "  dirk,  whirl,  "  "  i. 

0,      "  done,  son,  "  "  ti. 

0,      "  woman,  "  "  56. 

0,      "  do,  move,  "  "  do. 

a,      "  for,  storm,  "  "  6  or  aw. 

00,    "  soon,  moon,  "  '*  oo. 

00,    "  foot,  good,  *'  "  65. 

u,      "  rude,  ride,  "  "  oo. 

'u,      "  push,pidl,  "  "  65. 

w,      "  6wm,  <urft,  "  "  li. 

oi,  I 

oy,'i 

ou,) 
ow,) 


an,  toy,  oi. 

found,  owl,        "  "     ow. 


c,  as  in  city,  cite,  is  represented  by  a  or  9. 
c,      "      ca?i,  cut,      '        " 
eh,    "      c/u7d,  much,        " 
c^.,    "      machine,  " 

c^,    "      chorus,  " 

w,      "      think,  uncle,       " 
9M,    "      require,  " 

s,       "      th&^e,  ease,  " 

Obscure  vowel  sounds,  or  tliose  which  are  glided  over  in 
a  word  without  any  noticeable  accent,  are  unmarked.  In 
those  cases  where  the  pronunciation  is  so  evident  that  mis- 
takes seem  improbable,  the  marks  are  also  omitted. 

(10) 


k. 

ch. 

sh 

k. 

n. 

kw. 

z. 

EVERY-DAY  ERRORS 


OF 


s  x=  E  E  o  h: 


Abacus  —  aVa-kus,  not  a- 
bak^Cis. 

Abdomen — ab-do^men,  not 
ai/do-men. 

Acclimate — ak-kli^mate,  not 
ak^kli-mate. 

Acclimated  is  also  accented 
on  the  second  syllable. 

Acclimatization  —  ak-kli- 
mat-i-za^shun,  not  ak-kll^- 
ma-ti-za-shun. 

Adult— a-dult^,  not  ad^ult. 

Aerated — a^er-a-ted,  not  a^- 
re-a-ted.  ^^Areated  bread^^ 
is  a  mistake  that  is  fre- 
quently made. 

Ailantus — a-lan^tGs,  not  a- 
liln^thus ;  at-lin^tus  is  a 
still  worse  error. 

Albumen  —  al-bu''men,  not 
aKbu-men, 

Alder -awKder,  not  al'der; 
it  is  the  name  of  a  tree  and 
does  not  mean  the  ordin- 
ary elder. 

Alike.     It  is  sufficient  to  say 


that  two  persons  or  things 
are  alike,  not  both  alike. 
The  word  associated  with 
alike  is  just  as  unnecessary 
as  it  is  with  resemble  and 
equal  in  the  following  sen- 
tences :  "  These  two  men 
both  resemble  each  other." 
"  These  two  sums  are  both 
equal." 

Allopathy— al-15p^a-thy,  not 
aKlo-path-y. 

Allopathist  is  similarly  ac- 
cented. 

Alpaca — al-pak^a,  not  al-la- 
pak^a. 

Altercate  —  aKter-kate,  not 
awKter-kate. 

Amenable — a-me^na-ble,  not 
a-m6n'a-ble. 

Among.  A  thing  is  divided 
among  many  and  beivjeen 
two. 

Amour — a-moor^,  not  ara''- 
more  nor  a^moor. 

Angry.  Say  angry  with  a  per- 
son and  at  a  thing. 

Animalcula  is  the  plural  of 


(11) 


12 


UHIiO^S    OF  STESCM. 


animalculiim ;  there  is  no 
such  word  as  animalculce. 
Animalcule  (singular)  and 
animalcules  (plural),  are 
propel-  words  ;  the  former 
is  pronounced  an-i-maK- 
kule  and  the  latter  an-i- 
raaKkulz. 

Antarctic — ant-ark''tik,  not 
ant-ilr^tik. 

Antepenult  —  an-te-pe-niilt'', 
not  an-te-pe^nult. 

Apex — fi^pex,  not  Sp^ex. 

Apparatus — ap-pa-ra^tus,not 
ap-pa-ntt^us. 

Aquaria,  not  aquariums,  is 
the  plural  of  aquarium. 

Arabic — ;lr^a-bik,  not  a-nlb^- 
ik,  a-ra^bik,  nor  Tir^a-bak  ; 
which  errors  are  very  com- 
mon, especially  in  the  com- 
pound word  gum-arabic. 

Arbitrary  is  often  incorrectly 
pronounced  as  if  spelled 
ar-bi-ta-ry. 

Archangel  —  ark-an^jel,  not 
arch-an^jel. 

Archbishop  —  arch-bish^op, 
not  ark-bish^op. 

Archipelago  —  ark-i-peKa- 
go,  not  arch-i-peKa-go. 

Architect  —  ar^ki-tect,  not 
ar^chi-tect. 

Archives — ar^kivez,  not  ar^- 
chivez,  nor  ar^kevez. 

Arctic — ark^tik,  not  ar^tik. 

Arid — ar^id,  not  a^rid. 

Aroma — a-r6''ma,  not  iir^o- 
ma. 

At  should  not  be  used  when 
it  has  no  j>ossible  connec- 
tion with  the  other  words 


of  a  sentence  ;  as,  "  "Where 
are  you  living  at  ?  " 

At  ail,  not  a  tall. 

Attacked,  not  attackte  1. 

Auction— awk^shun,  not  (^k^- 
shun. 

Ay  or  Aye,  meaning  i/e«,  and 
aye,  an  affirmative  vote, 
are  pronounced  ai  and  not 
i  nor  a. 

Aye,  meaning  forever,  al- 
ways (used  chiefly  in  poet- 
ry), is  pronounced  a  not 
i  nor  iil. 

Bade— bad,  not  bade. 

Badinage  —  brid^in-iizh,  not 
bad^in-aje.  Worcester  gives 
the  same  pronunciation, 
but  places  the  accent  on 
the  last  syllable. 

Balance.  There  are  two 
common  errors  connected 
with  this  word.  One  is  to 
write  it  ballance  :  the  other 
is  to  use  it  in  the  sense  of 
remainder,  rest,  etc. ;  as,  the 
balance  of  the  day,  the  bal- 
ance of  the  people.  Bal- 
ance means  properly  "  the 
excess  on  one  side,  or  what 
added  to  the  other  makes 
equality."  The  corrupt  use 
of  the  word,  as  above  men- 
tioned, is  laid  down  as  a 
vulgarism. 

Bantam,  not  banty. 

Bellows — beKltis,  not  bCKloz. 
The  plural  is  the  same  as 
the  singular. 


EHIRO^S   OF  STFECir. 


13 


Besom — be''zum,  not  be^'sum. 
K  broom. 

Betroth  —  be-tr6th,  not  be- 
troth. Betrothed,  Be- 
trothal, etc.,  are  similar- 
ly pronounced. 

Blacking,  not  blackening  for 
boots  and  shoes. 

Blouse — blowz,  not  blowss. 

Bologna  — b5-16n^ya,  not  bo- 
logna. Bologna  sausage, 
Bologna  phial,  etc. 

Bona  fide — bo^na-fide,  not 
bo^na-fide  nor  b6n^a-fide. 

Booth.  The  th  is  sounded 
as  in  the  preposition  withy 
not  as  in  both. 

Bouquet  -  boo-ka^  or  boo^ka, 
not  bo-ka''. 

Bourgeois,  meaning  a  kind 
of  type,  is  pronounced  biir- 
jois^,  not  like  the  follow- 
ing word  : 

Bourgeois,  a  citizen,  pro- 
nounced boor-zhwaw^. 

Brand-new,  not  bran-new. 
Although  the  latter  adject- 
ive is  much  used,  it  is  evi- 
dently a  corruption  of  the 
former.  An  article  in  its 
newness  may  be  bright  like 
a  brand  of  fire,  or  the  brand 
of  the  manufacturer  may 
remain  intact,  but  there  is 
certainly  no  bran  about  it. 

Breeches— britch^ez,  not  as 
spelled. 

Bretzel,  not  pretzel.  A  brit- 
tle German  cake. 

Brilliant.  A  diamond  of  the 
finest  cut,  witii  its  faces  and 
facets  so  arranged  as  to  se- 


cure the  greatest  degree 
of  brilliancy — whence  the 
name.  The  name  to  many 
conveys  the  idea  of  paste, 
or  imitation.  A  rose  dia- 
mond may  be  just  as  pure, 
but  its  depth  does  not  per- 
mit it  to  be  made  ^brilliant 
of  without  a  much  greater 
loss  of  substance. 

Brougham  -broom  or  broo^- 
am,  not  bro^am  nor  brow^- 
am.     A  kiiid  of  carriage. 

Burst,  Bursted  and  Burst- 
ing, not  busty  busted  and 
basting. 

o. 

Calculate  is  often  inappro- 
priately used  in  lieu  of  be- 
lieve, suppose,  expect,  etc.,  as 
in  the  following  sentences  : 
"  I  calculate  you  are  my 
friend  ;  "  "I  calculate  the 
report  is  true."  Still  worse 
than  this  passive  misuse 
is  that  active  one  of  using 
the  word  in  some  such, 
sense  as  this :  "  Doctor,  I 
know  that  you  are  a  man 
of  great  intelligence  and  I 
have  unlimited  confidence 
in  your  honor  and  ability ; 
but  I  must  say  that  I  think 
the  course  of  treatment 
pursued  by  you  during  this 
epidemic,  is  calculated  to  in- 
crease the  mortality  among 
your  patients."  tlow  in- 
consistent with  the  enco- 
mium is  the  dreadful  ac- 


14 


£filiO^S    OF   S^'EJSCIT, 


cusation  just  following  ! 
As  if  the  Doctor  had  sat 
down  and  calculated  how 
he  could  cause  injury  rath- 
er than  benefit.  Calculate 
means  to  ascertain  by 
means  of  figures  or  to 
study  what  means  must  be 
used  to  secure  a  certain 
result.  A  person  may 
make  a  speech,  write  a 
book,  or  do  anything  else 
calculated  to  do  good,  or 
more  rarely,  evil,  but  the 
intention  to  accomplish 
the  object  spoken  of  must 
be  present,  before  the  word 
can  l>e  properly  used. 

Calliope  —  kal-li^o-pe,  not 
kaKli-ope. 

Calvary,  not  cavalry,  when 
tiie  place  of  our  Saviour's 
crucifixion  is  meant. 

Camelopard — kameKo-piird 
or  kam^ei-o-piird,  not  kam- 
el-leop^ard. 

Cantatrice  —  kan-ta-tre^che, 
not  kiln^ta-treess. 

Canon — kai/yun,  not  kan^- 
nun.  A  deep  gorge  or  ra- 
vine. Spelled  also  Canyon, 
pronounced  kiin-yon^  or 
kan^yon. 

Capoch  — ka-pootsl/,  not  ka- 
poch^.  Capouch  is  anoth- 
er orthography. 

Caption  in  the  sense  of  the 
heading  of  a  discourse, 
chapter,  page,  etc.,  is  not 
sanctioned  by  good  writers. 

Carminative  —  kiir-mln^a- 
tive,  not  kilr^mi-na-tive. 


Casualty — kazl/u-al-ty,  not 
kax-u-uKi-ty. 

Cater-cornered  —  ka^tcr- 
cor-nered,  not  kat^ty-cor- 
nered.  Not  down,  thus 
compounded  in  Webster, 
but  his  pronunciation  of 
the  separate  words  is  as 
given.  Worcester  gives 
the  word  as  above  and  de- 
fines it  as  an  adjective  — 
diagonal.  It  is  generally 
used  though,  I  believe,  as 
an  adverb  ;  as,  "  the  piano 
stands  cater-cornered"  (di- 
agonally). It  is  regarded  as 
an  inelegant  word,  diago- 
nal and  diagonally  being 
preferred :  though  it  is 
probable  that  this  opinion 
has  been  caused  by  th« 
abominable  pronunciations 
catty  and  kitty  cornered. 

Catalpa  — ka-taKpa,  not  ka- 
tawKpa. 

Catch,  Catching  — kiltch  and 
katcliing,  not  kgtch  and 
ketching. 

Catholic  means  liberal,  gen- 
eral, not  bigoted,  and  not 
Roman  Catholic,  unless 
specially  so  applied. 

Caucasian — kaw-ka'sian,not 
kaw-kazh^ian,  kaw-kash^- 
ian,  kaw-kaz^ian  nor  kaw- 
kass^ian. 

Cayenne — ka-en'',  not  kl-on^. 

Chaps — chftps,  not  chilps. 
The  jaws.  Chops  is  also 
correct  orthography. 

Chasten — chasten,  not  chJts^- 
en.    Chastened,  chasten- 


E^nons  OF  sti:bcb: 


15 


ing,  etc.,  have  also  the 
long  a. 

Chew,  not  chaw.  The  latter 
word  either  as  a  verb  or 
noun  is  now  considered 
quite  vulgar. 

Chid,  not  chiMcd,  is  the  ini- 
perl'eet  tense  of  chide. 

Chimera — ki-me^ra,  not  chi- 
me^ra,  nor  ki-iue'ra. 

Chivalric — shiv^al-rik,  not 
shiv-aKrik.  Worcester  al- 
lows the  latter. 

Chivalrous — shiv^al-riis,  not 
shiv-aKrus.  Worcester 

gives  chiv^al-rus  also. 

Chivalry  —  shiv^al-ry,  not 
chiv^al-ry.  Worcester 

sanctions  both. 

Cicerone — che-che-ro^ne  or 
sis-e-r6''ne,  not  sis^e-rone. 
A  guide. 

Citrate — sit^rate,  not  si^trate. 
"  Citrate  of  magnesia." 

Climbed,  not  clomb  (klum). 
One  climbs  wp  but  does  not 
climb  down. 

Cochineal — k6cl/i-neel,  not 
k5^chi-ncel  nor  ko^ki-neel. 

Cocoa  (k6^k(3)  is  not  made 
from  the  cocoa-nut  or  tree, 
but  from  the  seeds  of  the 
cacao  (ka-ka^o)  or  choco- 
late tree.  The  word  is  evi- 
dently a  perversion,  but  it 
has  gained  a  permanent 
footing  in  its  present  sig- 
nification. 

Cognomen  —  kog-no^men, 
not  k6g^no-men. 

Cold-chisel,  not  coal-chlsd. 
It  is  a  chisel  of  peculiar 


strength  and  hardness  for 
cutting  cold  metal. 

Cole-slaw.  In  the  former 
editions  of  some  dictiona- 
ries it  has  been  taught 
that  this  word  is  derived 
from  cole  meaning  cabbage, 
and  slaw  meaning  salad. 
Cole-slaw —  cabbage-salad. 
The  un  instructed  soon 
changed  the  cole  into  cold 
and  substituted  hot  for  the 
other  extreme  of  tempera- 
ture, thus  entirely  chang- 
ing the  signification.  What 
was  really  meant,  was  hot 
cole-slaiv  and  cold  cole-slaw. 
Many  persons  still  regard 
cole-slaw  as  the  proper 
word,  and  receipt  books 
give  that  orthography.  The 
last  editions  of  Webster  and 
Worcester,  however,  only 
give  the  words  cole  and 
slaiv  in  separate  phices  and 
define  the  latter  as  "  sliced 
cabbage." 

Combatant  —  k6m^bat-ant, 
not  kom-bat^ant. 

Combativeness  —  kCm^bat- 
ive-ness,  not  kom-btlt^ive- 
ness. 

Come  is  often  thoughtlessly 
used  for  go  or  some  other 
word.  If  How  is  just  leav- 
ing Howard's  house  it  is 
right  for  How  to  say,  "  I'll 
come  to  see  you  soon,"  but 
Howard  could  not  proper- 
ly say,  at  that  place,  the 
same  thing.  He  sliould 
say,  "  I  will  go  to  see  you 


16 


EltltOfiS    OF  STFECJT. 


soon."  If  they  both  live  in 
Phihidelphia  and  should 
meet  in  New  York,  neitlier 
could  say  appropriately, 
"I'll  come  to  see  you  after 
I  get  home  ;  "  that  would 
mean  that  one  would  trav- 
el back  from  his  home  in 
Philadelphia  to  NewYork 
to  see  the  other  But  eith- 
er might  say,  *'  Come  and 
see  me  when  you  get 
home." 

Comparable  —  k5m^pa-ra- 
ble,  not  k6m-par^a-ble. 

Complaisance. —  kSm^pla- 
zans,  not  k6m-pla^zans.  In 
compUiisant  and  complais- 
antly,  the  accent  is  also  on 
the  first  syllable.  Worces- 
ter places  it  on  the  third, 
thus :  complaisant  (kom- 
pla-Ziint^),  etc. 

Comptroller —  kon-troHer, 
not  k6mp-troKler. 

Conduit — k5n^dit  or  kun^dit, 
not  k6n^duit  or  kon^dute. 
A  pipe  or  canal  for  the 
conveyance  of  fluid. 

Confab,  not  conjlab.  A  con- 
traction  of  confabulation. 

Congeries  —  k5n-je^ri-eez, 
not  kon-je^rez  nor  k5n^je- 
rez.  A  collection  of  par- 
ticles into  one  mass. 

Contemptuous,  not  con- 
temptible, when  the  man- 
ifestation of  contempt  for 
another  is  meant.  I  once 
heard  a  young  lady  de- 
scribing how  she  had  with- 
ered  at  a  glance   a  poor 


young  man  that  had  in- 
curred her  displeasure.  ''O, 
I  gave  him  such  a  contempt' 
ible  look,"  said  she.  If 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
rehearsal,  the  look  that 
dwelt  upon  her  features 
was  akin  to  that  given  up- 
on the  occasion  mentioned, 
no  auditor  doubted  the  ex- 
act truth  of  what  she  said  ; 
but  she  meant  differently. 

Contiguous  —  kon-tig^u-us, 
not  kon-tij^u-us. 

Contour  —  k5n-toor^,  not 
k5n^t66r.  The  boundary 
lines  of  a  figure. 

Contra-dance  is  better  than 
country-dance,  the  latter 
word  being  a  corruption  ; 
but  it  has  become  admissi- 
ble from  long  use  Contre- 
dunse  is  the  French  origin- 
al, and  means  that  the  par- 
ties stand  opposite  to  each 
other. 

Contrary  —  k5n^tra-ry,  not 
kon-tra^rv,  interfering  with 
the  rhythm  of  the  distich 
from  Mother  Goose's  Mel- 
odies : 

"  Mary,  Mary,  quite  contrary, 
How  does  your  garden  grow  ?  " 

Contumacy —  kQn^tu-ma-sy, 
not  kon-tu^ma-sy.  Obsti- 
nacy, stubbornness. 

Contumely  —  k6n^tu-me-ly 
not  k5n-tu^me-ly.  Inso- 
lence, contemptuousness. 

Conversant  —  k6n^ver-sant, 
not  kon-v6r^sa,nt. 


Eft  no  IRS    OF  STBECH^. 


17 


Conversazione  —  kSn^ver- 
siit-se-o^na,  not  kon-ver- 
sas^si-oue.  A  meeting  for 
conversation,  Worcester 
pronounces  it  koii-ver-siit- 
ze-o^na.  The  plural  is  con- 
versazioni (-ne). 

Corporal  punishment,  not 
cor-po^re-al. 

Cortege— kor^tazh,  not  kor''- 
teje.  A  train  of  attend- 
ants. 

Councilor,  is  a  member  of 
council. 

Counselor,  one  who  gives 
advice.  Worcester's  spell- 
ling  is  councillor  and  coun- 
sellor. 

Creek,  not  krick. 

Creole.  From  Webster's 
dictionary  are  taken  the 
following  definitions  and 
remarks : 

1.  "  One  born  in  Amer- 
ica, or  the  West  Indies,  of 
European  ancestors. 

2.  "  One  born  within  or 
near  the  tropics,  of  any 
color.  '  The  term  Creole 
negro  is  employed  in  the 
English  AVest  Indies  to 
distinguish  the  negroes 
born  there  from  the  Afri- 
cans imported  during  the 
time  of  the  slave  trade. 
The  application  of  this 
term  to  the  colored  people 
l^as  led  to  an  idea  com- 
mon in  some  parts  of  the 
United  States,though  whol- 
ly unfounded,  that  it  im- 
plies an  admixture  greater 

2 


or  less  of  African   blood.' 

— R.  Hildreth." 
Crinoline  —  krinVlIn,    not 

krn/o-line  nor  krIn''o-leen. 
Cuirass  — kwe-ras^  or    kwe^- 

ras,  not  kiVrS^s.     A  piece 

of  armor. 
Cuisine — kwe-zen'',  not  ku- 

seen^  or  ku-zine^.  Cooking 

or  cooking  department. 
Culinary  —  ku^li-aa-ry,  not 

kuKi-na-ry. 
Cupola -ku^po-la,    not   ku- 

po-16^. 

3D. 

Dahlia— diiKya  or  daK-ya, 
not  daFya. 

Dare  not,  notdarse'nt. 

Data — da^ta,  not  dat^a,  is  the 
plural  of  datum  (da^tum). 

Debris — da-bre^,  not  de^brls 
nor  da^bre.  Rubbish,  ruins. 

Decade— dek^ade,  not  de^- 
kade  nor  de-kade^.  Ten  in 
number. 

Defalcate  — de-f^l^kate,  not 
de-fa  wKkate. 

Defalcation  — de-fal-ka^shun 
not  de-fawl-ka^shun.  Wor- 
cester gives  def-al-ka^shun. 
No  such  word  as  defalca- 
tor is  seen. 

Deficit— dSf-'i-sit,  not  de-fi^- 
sit  nor  de-fis^sit.  A  de- 
ficiency. 

Delusion,  not  illusion,  when 
deception  occurs  from  want 
of  knowledge  of  the  world, 
ignorance  of  business  or 
trade,  or  from  lack  of  acu- 


18 


U^^On^    OF   STB  ECU. 


men  generally.  Illusions 
are  deceptions  arising  from 
a  teiiiporarily  or  perma- 
nently disordered  imagin- 
ation, or  from  plienomena 
occurring  in  naiure  :  thus 
we  vspeak  of  the  ilhisions 
ot  fancy,  of  dreams,  and  of 
optical  illusions.  The  mi- 
rage ot  the  desert  and  the 
fata  Morgana  are  instances 
of  the  latter. 

Demonstrative  —  de-m5n^- 
stra-tive,  not  dgm^on-sti'a- 
tive. 

Demonstrator  —  d6n/on- 
stra-tor,  not  de-mon^stra- 
tor.  Worcester  allows  the 
latter. 

Depot  — de-p6^  or  de^po,  not 
da^po,  nor  d6p^po.  Wor- 
cester sanctions  de-p6^ 
only.  I  once  had  a  friend, 
deceased  now,  of  course, 
who  called  it  de-p6/. 

Dereliction  der-e-iik^shun, 
not  der-e-lek^shun.  A  for- 
saking, abandonment. 

Deshabille— des-a-biK,  1       , 

Dishabille  — dis-a-bi/,  / '^ 
des^ha-beel  nor  dis^ha- 
becl.  The  French  is  des- 
habille, pronounced  about 
like  da-zii-be-ya,  without 
any  particular  accent. 
Some  persons,  in  their  vain 
efforts  to  get  the  peculiar 
liquid  sotmd  of  the  double 
1,  sometimes  used,  distort 
the  word  terribly,  pro- 
nouncing it  even  us  broad 
as  dis-lia-beei^vuli. 


Desideratum  —  de-sid-e-ia^- 
tuni,  not  de-sid-er-at^- 
um  ;  plural,  de-sid-er-a^ta. 
Something  particularly  de- 
sired. 

Desperado  —  des-per-a''do, 
not  des-per-ilMo. 

Dessert— dez-zert^,  not  d6z^- 
zert,  nor  d&^sert :  dessert- 
spoon (dez-zert^-spoon). 

Die.  One  dies  of  a  disease, 
not  with  it. 

Differ.  One  differs  with  a 
person  in  opinion ;  one 
person  or  thing  differs /?'o?n 
tvnother  in  some  quality. 

Disappointed.  One  is  dis- 
appointed of  a  thing  not 
obtained  and  in  a  thing 
obtained.  *'He  will  be 
disappointed  of  his  ex- 
pectaiions." 


Discourse  —  dis-k( 


not 


dis^kors. 

Disputable  —  dis^pu-ta-ble, 
not  dis-pii^ta-ble. 

Disputant — dis^pu-tant,  not 
dis-pu^tant. 

Distich — dis^tik,  not  dis^tich. 
Tw'o  poetic  lines  making 
sense. 

Docible — d5s^i-b!e,  not  do^- 
si-ble.  Tractable ;  teach- 
able. 

Docile — dossil,  not  do^sile. 

Dolorous  --  doKor-us,  not 
do^lor-oils.  Dolorously 
and  Dolorousness  are 
similai'ly  accented  ;  but 
dolor  is  pronounced  do^lor. 

Doubt.  "I  do  not  doubt 
hat  that  it  is  so,"  is  a  very 


JSHnonS    OF   STFFCH. 


19 


common  error.  The  mean- 
ing conveyed  is  just  the 
opposite  to  that  which  tlie 
speaker  intends.  He  de- 
clares in  otlier  words,  that 
he  has  no  doubt  hut  a  doubt 
that  it  is  so  ;  or  he  does  not 
doubt  that  it  is  false.  "  I 
have  no  doubt  but,"  and 
''there  is  no  doul)t  but,"  — 
are  similar  mistakes.  The 
word  "  but "  should  be  left 
out. 

Dough-face  m.eans  one  that 
is  easily  molded  to  one's 
will,  or  readily  changed  in 
his  views,  and  not  a  putty- 
faced  or  white-faced  per- 
son. 

Dragomans,  not  dragomen,  is 
the  plural  of  dragoman,  an 
Eastern  interpreter. 

Drama — drii^ma  or  dra^raa, 
not  dram^a.  Worcester 
says  dnVma  or  dram'^a. 

Dramatis  Personae -drttna^- 
a-tis  per-so^ne,  not  dra- 
mat^is  pgr^so-ne. 

Drank,  not  drunk,  is  the  im- 
perfect tense  of  drink. 

Ducat — duk^at,  not  dii^kat. 

JE. 

Ear — ear,  not  year.  Persons 
frequently  speak  of  the 
year -ache,  and  occasionally 
"  a  year  of  corn,^^  may  be 
heard. 

Ecce  Homo  —  6k^se  h5^mo, 
not  Sk^ke   ho^mo. 

Eider— iMer,  not  e^der.  Ei- 
der-doivn  and  eider-duck. 


Elm  is  pronounced  in  one 
syllable  and  not  eKlum. 

Elysian  -  e-liz^i-an,  not  e-lis^- 
sian.  Worcester  gives 
c-lTzl/e-an. 

Embryo — en/bry-o,  not  em- 
bry^o. 

Employe  (Fr.  employe)  — 
gni-ploy-f/  or  5ng-plwaw- 
yiV,  not  employee  or  ong- 
ploy^a.  Employee  is  not 
allowed. 

E.ncore  — 6ng-k6r^,  not  6ng^- 
kor  nor  6n^k6r. 

Eneid  — e-ne^id  not  e^ne-id. 
A  poem  of  Virgil.  Wor- 
cester sanctions  both  meth- 
ods of  pronunciation. 

Ennui — ong-nwe^,  not  6ng^- 
we.  Worcester  gives  a 
much  simpler  pronuncia- 
tion, viz  :  iin-we^. 

Enquiry-  en-kwi^ry,  not  &\V' 
kwi-ry. 

Epsom  Salt,  not  Epsom  Salts. 

Equable  —  e^kwa-ble,  not 
ek%a-ble.        * 

Equally  well,  etc.,  not  equal- 
ly as  well,  etc. 

Espionage — es^pe-on-aje  or 
6s^pe-on-azh,  not  6s-pi^o- 
naje  nor  es-pe^on-tizh. 

Esquimau  —  6s''ke-ra6,  not 
6s''qui-maw :  plural,  Es- 
quimaux (6s^ke-m6z),  not 
es^ke-mawz  nor  6s^ke-mo. 

Etagere — 6t-a-zhai*^,  not  e- 
tazh^er-y  nor  at-tazl/i-a. 
Worcester's  pronunciation 
is  a-ta-zhar''.  A  piece  of 
parlor  furniture  with 
shelves,  used  for    placing 


20 


£J Hit  OTIS    OF  STEECir. 


small  ornamenis  and  fancy 
articles  upon  ;  a  whut-not. 

Excrescence  — ex-kres^sense 
not  ex-kre^sense.  A  super- 
tliious  appendage :  morbid 
outgrovvtli. 

Expect  has  reference  fo  the 
future  only,  and  not  lol'lie 
present  or  past.  "  1  expect 
that  you  are  wrong."  "  1 
expect  you  were  disap- 
pointed yesterday,"  are 
errors.  There  is  an  abund- 
ance of  words  that  may  be 
correctly  used,  as  suppose, 
suspect,  imagine,  believe  and 
think. 

Expose  (Fr.  expose)  —  6ks- 
po-za^,  not  ex-p6z^.  An 
exposition  ;  statement. 

Exquisite  -  6ks^qui-zit,  not 
eks-iiuiz^it6.  Exquisitely 
is  accented  on  the  first  syl- 
lable also. 

Extant — ex^tant  not  ex-tttnt^ 

Extol— ox-toK,  not  ex-i6/. 
Extoiled/ex-tSld^,  etc. 


Facet  — fiis^set  not  fa-s6t''.  A 
small  surface  or  face  ;  as 
one  of  the  facets  of  a  dia- 
mond. 

Falchion  —  fawKchun,  not 
iilKclii-on.  A  sword.  Wor- 
cester sanctions  fawKshan, 
also. 

Falcon  — faw^kn,  not  fal-kon. 

Fang.  When  applied  to  a 
tooih,  fang  means  the  por- 
tion that  is  outside  of  the 


jaw.  This  name  is  often, 
even  by  dentists,  errone- 
ously given  to  the  root  or 
part  that  is  set  into  the  jaw. 

Far,  not  fur. 

Febrile— te^brilorf^bMl, not 
ie^brile.  Relating  to  fever. 

February,  as  it  is  spelled, 
and  not  F6b^u-a-ry,  as 
many  say  and  write  it. 

Feod,  feodal,  feodality — 
fud,  fiid^al,  and  fu-daKJ-ty. 
Relating  to  a  kind  of  ten- 
ure formerly  existing  in 
Europe,  in  which  military 
seivices  were  rendered  by 
the  tenant  as  a  considera- 
tion. Feud,  feudal,  feud- 
.  ality,  is  the  orthography 
generally  adopted  now. 

Ferret.  A  ferret  is  an  ani- 
mal of  the  weasel  kind, 
used  to  drive  rabbits  out 
of  their  burrows,  and  not  a 
species  of  dog. 

Fetid -fei^id,  not  fe^tid. 

Fetor —fe^tor,  not  f^i^or. 

Finale — fe-nii^la,  not  finale 
or  fi-naKly. 

Finance —fi-njlns^,  not  fi''- 
nans. 

Finances — fl-niin^s6z,  not  11^- 
nan-sez. 

Financier -fin-an-seer^,  not 
fl-nan-seer^  Financial, 
and  financially,  have  also 
the  short  i  in  the  first  syl- 
lable. 

Finis — n'nis,  not  finals. 

Firmament  means  the  ex- 
panse of  the  sky :  the 
heavens.      The   meaning, 


EIRnonS    OF   S^EECIT. 


21 


solid  foundation,  is  obso- 
lete. 

Flannel,  not  jlannen. 

Florid — floi-^id,  not  flo^rid. 

Florin — d<5r^in,  not  llo-rin. 
A  piece  of  money. 

Florist — flo^rist,  not  fl6/ist. 

Forage — Idr^aje,  not  fo^raje. 

Forceps — foi-^seps,  not  for^- 
seps  The  word  is  spelled 
the  same  in  both  the  singu- 
lar and  the  plural  num- 
bers. Such  mistakes  as, 
"  hand  me  a  forcep,"  in- 
stead of  "  hand  me  a 
forceps,"  are  very  com- 
mon. Strictly  speaking, 
"  a  pair  of  forceps,"  ought, 
I  suppose,  to  mean  two  for- 
ceps ;  but  like  the  expres- 
sions "  a  pair  of  scissors  " 
and  "  a  pair  of  stairs,"  the 
phrase  has  been  in  use  so 
long  that  it  must  be  toler- 
ated. 

Forehead — foi-^ed,  not  for'- 
h6d.  Worcester  allows 
either. 

Foreign — fbr^in,  not  fur^in. 

Fortnight  —  fort^nite,  not 
fort^nite,  fort^nit  nor  fort^- 
nit.  Worcester  gives  what 
is  authorized  above  and 
f6rt^nTt. 

Fortress  -f6r''tress,  not  for^- 
tress. 

Fragile — fraj^il,  not  fra^jil 
nor  fra^jiie. 

Fritter,  not  flitter,  is  the 
name  of  a  kind  of  fried  cake. 

Frivolity  —  fri-vSKi-ty,  not 
friv^ol-ty. 


Frontier  —  fr5nt^eer,  not 
fiunt^eer  nor  frun-teer^. 

Frontispiece —  fr5nt^is-pese, 
not  frunt^is-pese. 

Fuchsia— fook^si-a,  not  fu^- 
shi-a.  Worcester  gives  the 
latter. 

Fuzz,  not  furze,  is  the  word 
to  use,  if  used  at  all,  when 
the  embryo  whiskers,  or 
the  downy  surface  of  fruit, 
etc  ,  are  meant.  Down  is 
the  more  appropriate 
word.  Furze  is  the  name 
of  an  evergreen  shrub. 

a-. 

Gallivating,  not  gallivanting. 
Gallivanting  is  a  word  that 
is  used  to  some  extent,  be- 
ing applied  to  persons  that 
are  roaming  about  for 
amusement  or  adventure ; 
as,  "  this  young  man  has 
been  gallivanting  around." 
If  it  is  a  corruption  of  gal- 
lanting, it  should  certainly 
be  abolished  as  a  vulgar- 
ism ;  but  if  it  is  a  corrup- 
tion of  gallivating,  from 
gallivat,  the  name  of  a 
small  sailing  vessel,  it 
might  be  clothed  in  its 
proper  garb  and  retained 
as  a  useful  word  in  our 
language.  If  either  is  used, 
the  one  above  preferred 
should  be  chosen,  at  any 
rate. 

Gallows— -gaKlus,  not  g&V- 
loz     Gallowses,  plural, 


22 


EfiftOnS    OF  SPEECH. 


Gamin — ga-n::lng^,  not  gara^- 
in  nor  ga^min.     A   street 
child. 
Gape— giipe    or    gape,    not 
gap. 

Gargle.  One  gargles,  not 
gurgles,  the  throat 

Gaseous — ga//e-u.s,  not  gtlss- 
e-us.  Worcester  gives 
giVze-us  too. 

Gather     giith^er,  notgSth^er. 

Genealogy  —  jen-e-aKo-jy, 
not  je-ne-iKo-jy  nor  je-ne- 
ClVjy. 

Genealogist  ( jen-e-aKo-jist), 
genealogical  ( j6n-e-a-l6j^- 
i-kal)  and  genealogically 
(jen-e-a-loj^i-kal-Iy). 

Generic — je-ner^ik,  not  j?n^- 
er-ik,  nor  je-ne^rik.  Re- 
lating to  a  genus,  or  kind. 

Gerund — jer^und,  not  je- 
rund.  A  kind  of  verbal 
noun  in  Latin. 

Get,  not  git. 

Giaour— jo wr,  not  gi^oor,  ji- 
owr^  nor  joor.  An  epitiiet 
applied  by  the  Turks  to  a 
disbeliever  in  Mahomet  ; 
the  name  of  one  of  Byron's 
poems. 

Gibbet^ib^bet,  not  gib^bet. 

Glamour  —  gla^moor,  not 
glan/mur.  Worcester  gives 
gla^mer,  also.  A  charm 
in  tlie  eyes,  making  them 
see  things  difierently  from 
what  they  really  are. 

Gneiss — nis,  not  nes  nor 
gnC'S.     A  kind  of  rock. 

Gondola  —  g6n^do-la,  not 
gon-do^la. 


Got.  Tliere  are  some  stick- 
lers for  niceties  that  over- 
do thenisetves  in  contend- 
ing that  the  use  of  the  verb 
got  is  generally  unneces- 
sary and  incorrect  in  con- 
junction with  Aofeand  had. 
Get  means  to  procn.ie,  to 
obtain,  to  come  into  pos- 
session of,  etc.,  and  it  is  a 
very  tame  assertion  that 
one  simply  has  a  thing 
that  cost  much  mental  or 
physical  labor.  A  scholar 
has  his  lesson,  but  did  it 
creep  into  his  head  while 
he  passively  shut  his  eyes 
and  went  to  sleep  ?  On  the 
contrary,  he  got  it  or 
learned  it  by  hard  study, 
and  it  is  proper  to  say  that 
lie  has  got  it.  A  man  has 
a  cold,  but  he  got  it  or  took 
it  by  exposing  himself.  A 
person  has  a  sum  of  money, 
but  he  got  /)r  earned  it  by 
his  labor.  Another  has 
good  friends,  but  he  got  or 
secured  them  by  liis  pleas- 
ant address.  The  great 
causes  of  the  warfare 
against  this  word  are,  I 
think,  tliat  have  and  had, 
though  generally  used  as 
auxiliaries,  can  sometimes 
be  itsed  as  principal  verbs 
and  make  good  sense  ;  and 
that  it  has  not  been  recol- 
lected that  in  the  majority 
of  cases  got  either  stands 
for,  or  can  be  substituted 
for  another  verb.     In  con- 


anno  IRS  or  s'Pi:ecb: 


23 


firmation  of  this  last  state- 
ment, is  appended  the  fol- 
lowing composed  by  Dr. 
Withers  :  "  1  got  on  liorse- 
back  within  ten  minutes 
after  I  got  your  letter. 
When  I  got  to  Canterbury, 
I  got  a  cliaise  for  town,  but 
I  got  wet  before  I  got  to 
Canterbury ;  and  1  have 
got  such  a  cold  as  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  get  rid  of  in 
a  hurry.  I  got  to  the  Treas- 
ury about  noon,  but  first  of 
all  I  got  shaved  and  dress- 
ed. I  soon  got  into  the  se- 
cret of  getting  a  memorial 
before  the  board,  but  I 
could  not  get  an  answer 
then  ;  however,  I  got  intel- 
ligence from  the  messen- 
ger, that  I  should  most  like- 
ly get  one  the  next  morn- 
ing. As  soon  as  I  got  back 
to  my  inn,  I  got  my  supper 
and  got  to  bed.  It  was  not 
long  before  I  got  asleep. 
When  I  got  up  in  the 
morning,  I  got  my  break- 
fast, and  then  I  got  myself 
dressed  that  I  might  get 
out  in  time  to  get  an  an- 
swer to  my  memorial.  As 
soon  as  1  got  it,  I  got  into 
the  chaise  and  got  to  (Jan- 
terbury  by  three,  and  about 
tea-time,  I  got  home.  I 
have  got  nothing  for  you, 
and  so  adieu." 

Applying  this  test  of 
substitution  to  any  doubt- 
ful case,  1  think  it  right  to 


assert  that  if  there  is  no 
other  verb,  or  participle, 
that  will  appropriately 
take  the  place  of  "  got," 
the  latter  word  is  unneces- 
sary /  butitsliould  hardly 
be  considered  as  an  error, 
as  it  is  so  slight  an  im- 
propriety compared  with 
many  others  that  are  al- 
lowed, and  especially  be- 
cause we  have  long  had  the 
usage  of  many  of  the  best 
writers  to  sanction  the  f^m- 
ployment  of  the  word.  The 
very  people  that  appear  to 
be  so  shocked  at  the  use  of 
the  superfluous  got,  may 
generally  be  heard  making 
use  of  such  expressions 
as  "  fell  down  upon  the 
ground,"  "  rose  up  and 
went  away,"  *'  covered  it 
over,''  and  "  a  great,  big 
fire."  The  down,  up,  over 
and  big  are  certainly  su- 
perfluities, but  they  have 
been  heard  so  long  that 
they  are  seldom  mentioned 
as  errors. 

Gourmand — gooi-^raiind,  not 
gor^mand,  unless  the  or- 
thography gormand  is 
used. 

Gout— gowt,  not  goot,  as  act- 
ors are  sometimes  heard 
pronounce  it  in  the  follow- 
ing line  from  Macbeth : 
"  On  thy  blade  and  dudg- 
eon, gouts  of  blood." 

Government — guv^ern-ment 
not  guv^er-ment.      It  is  a 


24 


EJinOltS   OF  S^EBCJSr. 


mistake,  frequently  made, 
to  write  and  pronounce  the 
word  as  if  it  iiad  no  '*  n  " 
in  the  penultimate. 

Gra mercy — gra-mer\v,  not 
gram''er-sy,  A  word  for- 
merly used  to  express 
thankfulness  with  surprise. 

Granary  —  grSn^a-ry,  not 
gra^na-ry.  There  are  no 
such  words  as  grainery  and 
grainary. 

Gratis — gra^tis,  not  grS,t-is. 

Grenade  —  gre-nade^,  not 
grgn^ade.  A  kind  of  ex- 
plosive shell. 

Guardian  —  giird^i-an,  not 
giir-de^an. 

Guerdon  —  ger^don,  not 
gwer^don  nor  jer^don.  A 
reward  ;  a  recompense. 

Guild -gild,  not  gild.  Aso- 
ciety  ;  a  fraternity. 

Guipure — ge-pur^,  not  gim- 
pure''  nor  gwi-pure^.  An 
imitation  of  antique  lace. 

Gunwale  — commonly  pro- 
nounced gun^nel  and 
spelled    so    sometimes. 

Gutta-percha  —  gut^ta-per^- 
cha,  not  gtlt^ta-per^ka. 

Gyrfalcon — jer''faw-kn,  not 
jer^fa,l-kun. 

Habitue(Fr.  habitu^)— a-blt- 
u-a',  not  hab-it-u-e  nor 
hab-it-u-a^ 

Halloo  (hal-1650,  holla  (h6K. 
Ia),hollo(hcn6orh6l-lo0 
or  hollow    (hSKlow),    but 


not  h5Kler.  Worcester 
gives  halloo  (hal-166'), 
holla  (hSl-laO,  hollo  (h6l- 
15^)  and  hollow  (hSKlow 
or  h6l-16w^).  It  is  strange 
that  with  such  a  variety  of 
words  to  choose  from,  peo- 
ple generally  say  "  holler." 

Hanged  is  preferable  to 
hung,  when  the  inflic- 
tion of  the  death  penalty 
bv  hanging  is  meant. 

Harass  —  har^ass,  not  ha- 
rass^. 

Harem — ha^rem,  not  hS,r^em, 
Worcester  gives  hii^rem 
also.  Written  also  haram 
(ha-r3,m'). 

Hardly.  DonH  and  canH 
should  not  be  used  with 
hardly.  Such  errors  as, 
"  I  don't  hardly  believe 
it,"  are  not  uncommon. 
Hardly  means  scarcely,  and 
the  use  of  don't  or  can't 
gives  an  opposite  significa- 
tion to  the  sentence. 

Haunt — hant,  not  hSnt. 

Haunted  —  hiint^ed,  not 
hitnt^ed. 

Hawaiian  —  ha-wi''yan,  not 
ha-waw^yan.  Relating  to 
the  island  of  Hawaii. 

Hearth— hiirth,  not  berth. 

Hearth-stone —  hartl/stone, 
not  herth^stone. 

Heather — h6tl/er,  not  hetl/- 
er.  Worcester  gives  heth''- 
er  as  the  pronunciation. 

Heinous — ha^nus,  not  he''- 
nus,  hen^yus  nor  han^yus. 

Herb — erb,  not  herb. 


Enaoifis  OF  spEircH. 


25 


Herbaceous  —  her-ba''shus, 
not  er-ba^shus. 

Herbage-  erb^ej  or  hgrb^ej, 
not  her^baje. 

Heroine — h6r^o-in,  not  he''- 
ro-ine  nor  be^ro-in.  Wor- 
cester gives  the  first  and 
the  last  of  the  above. 

Heroism  —  h6r^o-izm,  not 
he^ro-izm.  Worcester  sanc- 
tions both. 

Hieroglyphic  — hl-er-o-glif - 

ik,  not  hi-er-o-grink. 

Hindoostanee  1       ,  .     i-- 
u-     .     .      .  >       hin-doo- 

Hmdustani        / 

standee,  not  hin-doo^stiln- 
ee.  Worcester's  orthog- 
raphy is  Hindostanee  and 
Hindostany,  but  the  accent 
is  on  the  penult  as  above. 

Homage — h6m''aje,  not  6m^- 
aje. 

Homeopathy  —  ho-me-6p^a- 
thy,  not  ho^me-o-path-y. 

Homeopathist  -  lio-me-op^a- 
thist,  not  h5^me-o-path- 
ist. 

Hooping-cough  — hoop^ing- 
cough,not  h66p''ing-cough. 
Spelled  Whooping-cough, 
also. 

Horizon  —  ho-rI''zon,  not 
h6r^i-zon. 

Horse-radish  —  horse-rad- 
ish, not  horse-rM-dish. 

Hough  -  h6k,  not  huff.  To 
disable  by  cutting  the  sin- 
ews of  the  ham.  As  a 
noun,  the  word  means  the 
joint  at  the  lower  portion 
of  the  leg  of  a  quadruped  ; 
written  hock,  also. 


Houri  — howr^y,  not  owr^y. 
A  nymph  of  paradise. 

Hovel — hdv^el,  not  huv^el. 

Hundred,  as  spelled,  not 
hui/derd. 

Hydropathy— hl-dr6p^a-thy, 
not  hl^dro-pith-y. 

Hydropathist  —  hi-dr(5p^a- 
thist,  not  hi^dr6-p3,th-ist. 

Hygiene — hl^ji-ene,  not  hi- 
geen^  nor  hi^geen.  Wor- 
cester authorizes  the  first 
and  last. 


Illustrate  —  il-liis''trate,  not 
iKlus-trate.  Illustrated, 
illustrating,  illustrative 
and  illustrator,  are  like- 
wise accented  on  the  sec- 
ond syllable. 

Imbroglio— im-broKyo,  not 
im-brdKyo.  Worcester  says 
im-broKye-o 

Immobile  -  im-m6b^il,  not 
ini-mo^bil  nor  Im-rao^bile. 

Imperturbable  —  im-per- 
tiir^ba-ble,  not  im-per-too^- 
ra-ble,  nor  im-pei-^tu-ra- 
ble.  Incapable  of  being 
disturbed. 

implacable  —  im-pla^ka-ble, 
not  im-plak^a-ble. 

Impotent  —  im^po-tent,  not 
im -portent,  I  m  potency 
and  impotence  are  ac- 
cented similarly. 

Improvise  —  im-pro-vlze^, 
not  im^pro-vize. 

Incognito — in-k5g^ni-to,  not 
in-c6n''i-to      nor     in-c5g- 


26 


Sn^O'RS    OF   ST E ECU. 


nisVo.  Incog  is  an  au- 
thorized abbreviation.  In- 
cognita, is  a  female  in 
disguise. 

Indiscretion  -  in-di^-kr^s]/- 
un,  noi  in-dis-kre^shun. 

Indissoluble  —  in-dis^so-lu- 
ble,  not  in-dis-sSKu-ble. 
Indissolubly,  etc. 

Industry — in^dus-try,  not  in- 
dus^try. 

Infinitesimal  — in-fin-i-t»Vi- 
nial,  not  in-fin-iCs^i-raal. 

lngenious-in-jen^yus,moan9 
possessed  of  genius  ;  skill- 
ful, etc. 

Ingenuous  —  in-jgn^yu-us, 
means  noble,  open,  frank, 
generous,  etc. 

Inquiry — in-kwi^ry,  not  in^- 
kwi-ry. 

Inveigle— in-ve^gle,  not  in- 
va^'gle.  Inveigler  (in-ve^- 
gler)  and  inveiglement 
(in-ve^le-ment). 

Irate -i-rate^,  not  i^rate. 
Worcester  gives  the  latter. 

Irrational  —  ir-rash^un-al, 
not  ir-r:Vshun-al.  Irra- 
tionally (ir-rilsh^in-al-ly), 
etc. 

Irrecognizable  —  ir-re-k6g^- 
ni-za-ble,  not  ir-rSk^og-ni- 
za-ble. 

irrelevant,  not  irrevelant. 
Not  applicable;  not  suited. 

Isinglass -Tzing-glass,  is  a 
kind  of  gelatine  prepared 
from  the  sounds  or  air- 
bladdefs  of  certain  fish, 
and  is  used  in  jellies,  for 
clarifying     liquors,     etc. ; 


while  the  transparent  sub- 
stance, frequently  called 
iainglas^,  which  is  used  in 
the  doors  of  stoves  and 
lanterns,  is  really  mica,  a 
mineral  that  admits  of 
being  cleaved  into  tliin 
plates. 

Isolate— is^o-late,  not  i^so- 
late.  Isolated  (is''o-la-ted), 
etc  Worcester  gives  iz^- 
o-late,  etc. 

Itch — itch,  not  ech. 


Jamb,  not  jam  is  the  spell- 
ing of  the  side-piece  of  a 
door,  window  or  fire-place. 

Jaundice —jJln^dis,  not  jan- 
ders. 

Jean — ;jane,  not  jeen.  A 
twilled  cotton  cloth.  Writ- 
ten also  jane. 

Jew's-harp — juzOiiirp,  not 
jus^'harp. 

Jocund— jSk^und,  not  j6^- 
kund.  Jocundity,  jocund- 
ly, jocundness,  have  also 
the  short  o. 

Jugular— ju^u-lar,  not  jiig'- 
u-lar. 

Jujube— jiVJiibe,  not  ju'ju- 
be.     "  Jujube  paste." 

Just,  not  jest  in  such  sen- 
tences as :  "  I  have  just 
done  it ; "  "  He  has  jibst 
enough,"  etc. 

Knoll — n5l,  not  n61. 


JEimOJtiy    OF    ST'EECH. 


Tl 


Lamm,  to  bent,  is  not  spelled 
lam  nor  Ifiinb. 

Lapel  —  la-peK,  not  hlp^el. 
That  part  of  a  coat  which 
laps  over  the  faciiiii;'. 

Lariat — iar^i-at,  not  If/ri-at. 
A  lasso. 

Lay.  This  word  in  the  sense 
here  considered  is  a  transi- 
tive verb,  or  one  in  which 
the  action  or  state  implied 
by  the  verb,  passes  over  to 
an  object.  The  present 
tense  is  lay;  the  imperfect 
tense  and  past  participle 
are  laid;  and  the  present 
participle  laying.  Requir- 
ing an  object  in  each  of 
the  various  meanings  at- 
tached to  it,  it  is  proper  to 
say :  "The  hen  lays  an  egg 
every  day ;"  "  The  man  laid 
his  load  on  the  ground  ;  " 
"The  rain  has  laid  the 
dust ; "  "  The  hunter  is  lay- 
ing a  snare."  The  verb  lie 
is  an  intransitive  verb  and 
can  have  no  object  after  it. 
Tiie  present  tense  is  lie;  the 
imperfect  tense  is  lay  ;  the 
past  participle  is  lain  ;  the 
present  participle  is  lying. 
Having  no  objective  case 
to  which  the  action  or  state 
passes  over,  it  is  correct  to 
sav  :  ''  Ohio  lies  north  of 
Kentucky  ;  "  ''  The  sick 
man  lay  upon  the  bed  yes- 
terday ; "  "  He  has  lain 
there  helpless  for  weeks ; " 


"  The  goods  I  bought  are 
lying  on  my  hands."  Con- 
trasting the  sentences  un- 
der each  verb  it  will  be 
readily  seen  that  Ohio  does 
not  lie  Kentucky,  but  the 
hen  lay^  the  egg  ;  the  inva- 
lid did  not  lay  the  bed  like 
the  man  laid  his  load;  he 
has  not  lain  anything,  as 
the  rain  has  laid  the  dust ; 
and  the  goods  are  not  lying 
anything,  as  the  hunter  is 
laying  the  snare.  If  the 
foregoing  differences  have 
been  carefully  observed,  I 
imagine  that  it  will  always 
be  easy  to  select  the  prop- 
er word  by  remembering 
the  following  rules : 

1.  If  the  person  or  thing 
spoken  of  exerts  an  action 
that  must  pass  over  to  an 
object,  use  lay,  laid  and 
laying. 

2.  If  the  person  or  thing 
spoken  of  exerts  an  action 
that  does  not  pass  over  to 
an  object,  use  lie,  lay,  lain 
and  lying. 

"  He  laid  upon  the  bed," 
then,  is  incorrect,  for  the 
verb  has  no  object.  It 
should  be  :  "  He  lay  upon 
the  bed."  But,  "  He  laid 
himself  upon  the  bed," 
would  be  correct,  for  there 
is  an  objective  case,  himself, 
supplied.  "  Let  these  pa- 
pers lay,"  should  be,  "  Let 
these  papers  lie."  "  The 
ship  lays  at  anchor,"  should 


28 


E  ft  It  on  S    OF  STEBCff. 


be,  "  The  ship  lxe%  at  an-  I 
chor."  "  The  ship  laid  at 
anchor,"  should  be,  "  The 
ship  lay  at  anchor."  "  They 
have  laid  in  wait  for  you," 
should  be,  "  They  have 
lain  in  wait  for  you."  "This 
trunk  is  laying  in  our  way," 
should  be,  "  This  trunk  is 
lying  in  our  way."  Errors 
connected  with  the  use  of 
these  verbs  are  more  com- 
mon, probably,  than  any 
others  in  our  language, 
being  detected  in  the  con- 
versation and  writings  of 
many  of  the  best  educated 
people.  Attention  to  the 
above  rules,  and  a  few  trial 
sentences  in  the  different 
moods,  tenses,  numbers 
and  persons,  ought  to  make 
the  selection  of  the  proper 
word  so  simple,  that  per- 
sons should  seldom  make 
mistakes. 

Learn.  Lea^-n-iTii;  is  done  by 
the  scholar  or  student,  and 
teaching  by  the  instructor. 
"  She  will  learn  me  how  to 
play,"  should  be,  *'  She 
will  teach  me  how  to  play," 
etc. 

Leasing — leez^ing,  not  les^- 
ing.  An  obsolete  word 
meaning  falsehood ;  lying. 
"  Thou  shalt  destroy  them 
that  spe.ik  leasing. "-B('6/e. 

Leg.  Of  late  years  there 
has  become  quite  popular 
a  prudish  notion  that  it  is 
indelicate  to  say  leg  when 


one  of  the  limbs  that  sup- 
ports the  human  body  is 
meant,  limb  being  prefer- 
red instead.  Leg  is  cer- 
tainly a  less  euphonious 
word  than  limb,  and  if  the 
latter  had  the  same  signi- 
fication attached  to  it, 
there  would  be  no  objec- 
tion to  its  employment ; 
but  limb  means  ar?n  just  as 
much  as  it  does  leg.  There 
is  nothing  immodest  in  the 
sound  or  meaning  of  the 
word  leg;  if  there  were,  it 
would  be  well  to  speak  of 
the  limb  of  a  table,  a  limb 
of  mutton,  or  a  three 
limbed,  stool ;  and  the  men- 
tion of  such  words  as  lega- 
cy or  legate  should  cause 
the  blush  to  rise  to  our 
cheeks.  The  very  use  of 
the  word  limb  indie  ites 
what  is  passing  in  the  mind 
of  the  speaker — a  thought 
of  leg,  an  indelicate  mean- 
ing attached  to  it,  and  a 
fear  to  speak  the  word. 
The  mind  of  the  listener 
is  affected  similarly  and 
the  result  is  that  a  conver- 
sation intended  to  be  per- 
fectly pure,  has  a  slight 
stain  left  upon  it.  If  we 
could  pass  through  life 
without  ever  finding  it  nec- 
essary to  speak  of  our  legs 
to  strangers,  there  would 
be  no  danger  of  compro- 
mising ourselves  ;  but  run- 
away and  other  accidents 


Efi^ons  OF  sf'FFCB:. 


29 


are  constantly  occurring  in 
which  legs  are  broken  or 
otherwise  injured.  When 
a  surgeon  is  called,  if  he  i 
told  that  a  limh  is  injured, 
he  has  one  chance  in  four 
of  guessing  the  riddle.  Tt 
is  not  always  safe  to  trifle 
thus  with  some  of  the  se- 
rious, practical  old  follow- 
ers of  Esculapius.  Before 
now  they  have  given  such 
rebukes  as  to  make  people 
ashamed  that  they  did  not 
say  lefj  in  the  first  place ; 
or  they  have  left  the  bed- 
side abruptly  with  such  a 
remark  as  :  "  When  you 
find  out  whether  it  is  your 
arm  or  your  leg,  send  for 
me  again."  If  people  will 
persist  in  using  Umh  for 
Ug,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
they  will  adopt  some  ad- 
jective prefix  to  remove  all 
ambiguity.  How  would 
north-east,  south-east,  etc., 
do?  Any  one  informed 
that  the  south-east  limb  was 
fractured,  would  know  at 
once  that  it  was  the  right 
leg. 

Legate — Igg^ate,  not  le^gate. 

Legendary  —  l6j^end-a-ry, 
not  le^jgnd-a-ry. 

Leisure — le^zhur,  not  Igzh^- 
ur,  nor  la^zhur.  Leisure- 
ly (le^zhur-]y). 

Length,  not  I6nth.  Every 
letter  is  sounded,  also,  in 
lengthy,  lenghten,length- 
iness,  et<;. 


Lenient — le'ni-ent,  not  I6n^- 
i-tnt.  Leniently  (le^ni- 
ent-ly),  etc. 

Lethe — le^the,  not  leth  ;  the 
th  is  as  in  both.  The 
mytiiological  and  poetical 
name  of  a  river  of  the  in- 
fernal region,  the  drinking 
of  a  portion  of  which 
caused  forgetfulness  of  the 
past. 

Lethean — le-the^an,  not  le^- 
the-an. 

Let's.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  lefs  is  really  let 
us,  the  apostrophe  denot- 
ing the  elision  of  the  u. 
Such  expressions  then  as : 
"let's  us  go,"  ''let's  him 
and  me  go,"  should  be, 
"  let  us  go  "  (or  let's  go), 
and  ''  let  him  and  me  go ;  " 
for  who  Avishes  to  say  "  let 
us  us  go,"  or  *'  let  us  him 
and  me  go." 

Leverage — lev^er-aje,  notle^- 
ver-aje. 

Licorice — lik^o-ris,  not  lik^- 
er-ish . 

Lie.     See  Lay. 

Lien  — le^en  or  li^en,  not  leen. 
A  charge  upon  property 
for  the  satisfaction  of  a 
debt. 

Lighted  is  preferable  to  lit  as 
the  imperfect  tense  and 
past  participle  of  light. 
"  He  lighted  the  gas,"  in- 
stead of,  *'  He  lit  the  gas." 
"  I  have  lighted  the  fire," 
instead  of,  "  I  have  lit  the 
fire,"     The  same  remarks 


30 


E^no^s  or  s:PBECiT. 


apply  to  the  imperfect  and 
participle  o\'  lifj/d  taken  as 
an  intransitive  verb.  "  The 
bird  has  lifjhted  upon  the 
tree,"  instead  of,  "  has  lit 
upon  tlie  tree."  Lit  is 
condemned  as  common. 

Lithographer  —  li-thog^ra- 
pher,  not  lith^o-graph-er, 
nor  ll-tli6g^ra-pher.  Li- 
thography (ii-thog^ra- 
phy). 

Loath — loth,  not  loth  ;  the  th 
is  as  in  both.  Rekictant. 
Written  sometimes  loth. 
The  verb  is  loathe,  with 
the  ih  as  in  breathe. 

Lyceum— li-se^um,  not  li^'se- 
um. 

Machiavelian  — mak-i-a-veK- 
ian,  not  mash-i-a-vei^ian. 
Pertaining  to  Machiavel ; 
politically  cunning. 

Mad.  In  the  sense  of  pro- 
voked, wrathful  or  indig- 
nant, angry  is  generally 
considered  the  more  appro- 
priate word.  "  Mad  as  a 
March  hare,"  is  an  indeli- 
cate term  that  should  not 
be  used  on  account  of  its 
origin. 

Madame  —  mil-dlim^,  not 
macKam. 

Magna  Charta — magna  kiir^- 
ta,  not  magna  clulr^ta. 

Manes  —  ma^nez,  not  manz. 
The  souls  of  the  dead. 

Manor — man^or,  not  lUcVnor 

Marigold  —  mar^i-gold,  not 
ma^ri-gold . 


Matin — mat^in,  not  ma^'tin. 

Matins — raat^inz,  not  ma''- 
tinz. 

Mattress — mat^tress,  not  ma- 
trass^. AVritten  also  mat- 
rass and  pronounced  as 
the  first. 

Meaw — mu,  not  meyow.  To 
cry  like  a  cat. 

Mediocre — meMi-o-ker,  not 
me-di-o^ker,  nor  me-di- 
ok^er. 

Melange  —  ma-l6ngzh^,  not 
me-lanj^. 

Melanotype — me-lan^o-type, 
not  me-lan^o-type. 

Melodrama  —  mel-o-dra^ma, 
not  mel-o-dram^a,  nor  m6l- 
o-dra^ma. 

Memoir — mem^woror  mem''- 
wor,  according  to  Webster; 
Worcester  gives  me-moir'' 
or  men/wiir. 

Mesdamss  —  ma-diim^,  not 
mez-dames''. 

Metallurgy  —  m6t^al-lur-jy, 
not  mc-taKlur-jy. 

Metaphor.  The  "failure  to 
distinguish  between  met- 
aphors and  similes,  is  a 
very  common  mistake.  In 
a  metaphor  the  resem- 
blance is  implied  without 
any  words  to  show  the  sim- 
ilarity ;  as  soon  as  the  lat- 
ter are  added  it  becomes  a 
simile.  ''  Hope  is  an  an- 
chor," and  "  Judah  is  a 
lion's  whelp"  are  meta- 
pliors.  "  Hope  is  like  an 
anchor,"  and  ''Jiidah  is 
like  a  lion's  wlicip "  are 
similes. 


^TiSO^'f  ^r    S^BBC/T. 


31 


Metrical  —  mgf'rik-al,  not 
me^trik-al. 

Mezzo  —  ragd^zo  or  met^zo, 
not  mez^zd.  An  Italian 
word  meaninji;  middle  ;  not 
extreme.  Mezzo-sopra- 
no (mgd^zo-so-prii^no)  ; 
between  contralto  and  so- 
prano ;  said  of  the  voice 
of  a  female  singer.  Mez- 
zotinto,  etc. 

Microscope  —  ml^kro-scope, 
not  mik^ro-scope.  Micro- 
scopic (mI-kro-sc6p^ic). 
Microscopy  (mi-kros^- 
co-py). 

Mien — meen,  not  mane. 

Mineralogy — min-er-aKo-jy, 
not  min-er-6Ko-jy. 

Minuet — min^u-et,  not  min- 
u-6t^.     A  dance. 

Mischievous  —  mis''che-viis, 
not  mis-che^vus,  nor  mis- 
che^ve-us.  Mischievously 
and  mischievousness  are 
also  accented  on  the  first 
syllable 

Modulate.  This  word  is  of- 
ten used  incorrectly  instead 
of  moderate  in  such  senten- 
ces as  :  "  Modulate  your 
voice,"  when  it  is  meant  to 
command  or  request  that 
the  tone  be  moderated  or 
lowered.  Modulate  means 
to  vary  or  inflect  in  a  mus- 
ical manner,  and  although 
the  word  might  often  be 
used  with  propriety  in 
such  sentences  as  the  above, 
yet  it  is  not  always  what  is 
meant  by  the  speaker.     A 


person's  voice  may  be  per- 
fectly modulated  and  yet 
the  tone  may  be  so  high 
that  it  is  desirable,  upon 
certain  occasions,  to  have 
it  moderated. 

Moire  — mwor,  not  more  nor 
mo^re.  Moire  antique 
(mwor  an-tek''). 

Molasses.  It  may  seem  in- 
credible to  those  who  have 
never  heard  the  error  I  am 
about  to  mention,  that  such 
a  ridiculous  blunder  could 
occur,  I  should  hardiy 
have  believed  it  myself,  if 
I  had  only  heard  0/  it ;  but 
I  was  once  in  a  portion  of 
the  country  where  all  the 
people  for  miles  around 
spoke  of  molasses  as  if  it 
were  a  plural  noun,  and  I 
frequently  heard  such  re- 
marks as  the  following  : 
**  These  molasses  are  very 
good;  they  are  the  best  1 
have  seen  for  some  time." 
I  once  began  to  remon- 
strate with  one  of  tho 
champions  of  the  plu- 
rality of  the  treacle,  and 
insisted  that  he  should 
say,  ^^ this  molasses"  and, 
*'  it  is  good,"  etc ;  but  it 
was  of  no  avail.  Ife  in- 
sisted that  the  word  was 
analogous  to  ashes,  and  if 
one  was  plural  so  was  tlie 
other.  There  was  no  good 
dictionary  or  other  relia- 
ble authority  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, as  might  be  im- 


82 


IJftltOfiS   OF  STFECS, 


agined  from  what  has  been 
said,  so  they  were  left  hap- 
py in  their  ignorance. 

Monad  —  m5n'ad,  not  mo^- 
nad.       An  ultimate  atom. 

Monogram  —  mon^o-gram, 
not  mo^no-gram. 

Monograph  —  m6n^o-graph, 
not  m'l^no-graph. 

Monomania — mon-o-ma''nia, 
not  mo-no-ma^nia.  Mono- 
maniac (m6n-o-ma''ni-ac). 

Moor  — moor,  not  more.  An 
extensive  waste ;  a  heath. 
Moor,  the  name  of  a  na- 
tive of  North  Africa,  is 
similarly  pronounced. 

Morale — mo-riiK,  not  m5r^- 
ale  nor  mo-raK. 

Mountainous  —  mountain- 
ous, not  moun-ta^ni-oiis. 

Multiplication  —  mul-ti-pli- 
ca''tion,  not  mul-ti-pi-ca^- 
tion. 

Murrain — mui-^rin,  not  mur^- 
rane.  A  disease  among 
cattle. 

Museum  —  mu-ze^um,  not 
nuVze-um. 

Mushroom,  not  mush-i^oon. 

Musk-melon,  not  mu.^h-melon; 
but  anything  before  mush- 
million. 

Mussulmans,  not  miisselmen, 
is  the  plural  of  Mussul- 
man. 

Mythology  —  nn-th6Ko-jy, 
not  mi-tli5Ko-jy. 

Naiad — mVyad,  not  na^id  nor 
na^ad.     A    water    nymph. 


Nainsook  —  nan-sook'',  not 
nan-sook''.  A  kind  of 
mu:-l;n. 

Naive — nii^ev,  not  nave  nor 
niive.     Natural     artless. 

Naivete  —  nil^ev-ta,  not  na- 
vete^  nor  na-ve^ta. 

Nape— nap,  not  nSp.  The 
back  part  of  the  neck. 

Nasal  — na^zal,  not  na^sai  nor 
niis^al. 

Nasturtium  or  Nasturtion, 
not  asturtioii. 

Negligee  —  n6g-li-zha^,  not 
n6g-li-je^,  nor  n6g^ii-zha. 

Newspaper — nuz^pa-per,  not 
nus^pa-per. 

Niche  —  nich,  not  nick, 
when  a  concave  recess  in 
a  wall  for  an  ornament  is 
meant.  If  a  piece  is 
chopped  roughly  out  of 
anything,  it  is  a  nick.  Nick 
of  time,  not  7iiche  of  time, 
when  a  critical  moment 
is  meant ;  but  in  figura- 
tive language  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  phrase 
"  niche  of  time,"  may  be 
appropriately  used.  A 
great  event  may  be  said  to 
stand  in  a  niche  of  time  as 
an  example  for  coming 
ages. 

Nomad  —  n5m^id,  not  no^- 
niad.  One  of  a  wander- 
ina:  tribe.  Written  nom- 
ade  (noni'ade)  also. 

Nomenclature  —  no-men- 
cUVture,  not  no^men-cla- 
tiire. 

Nominative,  not  nom-a-tive. 


E^^Oltc!    OF   STB  ECS. 


33 


Nonillion  —  no-nllKion,  not 
n6n-ilKion. 

Nook  —  nook,  as  given  by 
AVebster,  Woicesier  sanc- 
tions both  nook  and  nook. 

Notable — not^a-bie,  not  no^- 
ta-ble,  wiien  it  is  applied 
to  a  person  distinguished 
for  thrift,  management, 
care,  etc;  as  a,  notable  house- 
keeper. 

Nymphean — nim-fe^an,  not 
nini^e-an.  Kelating  to 
nymphs. 

O. 

Obesity  —  o-bgs^i-ty,  not  o- 
be^si-ty. 

Obligatory  —  5b^li-ga-to-ry, 
hot  6b-lig^a-to-ry. 

Often  — oFn,  not  6t''t6n. 

Omega— o-me^ga  or  o-meg^a, 
not  6m^e-ga.  Worcester 
allows  the  hrst  only. 

Onerous  —  on^er-ous,  not 
o^ner-ous. 

Only-on^]y,  not  lin^ly. 

Onyx  — o^nyx,  not  on^yx. 

Opal — 6^-palj  not  o-paK  nor 
6-pawK. 

Opponent  —  op-p5^nent,  not 
op^go-nent. 

Ordnance,  not  ordinance, 
when  cannon,  artillery, 
etc.,  are  intended.  Ordi- 
nance is  a  rule  established 
by  authority 

Orgeat  —  or^zhat  or  6rViia, 
not  6r^je-at.  Worcester 
gives  dr^zhat. 

Orthoepy — 6r^tho-e-py,  not 
6r-th5^e-py. 
3 


Orthoepist  —  6r^tho-e-pist, 

not  or-tho^e-pist. 
Overflowed,  not  overflown. 


Palaver — pa-la^ver,  not  pa- 

lav^er. 
Pall-mall  —  p6l-m6K,     not 
pawl-ma-svK.       The  name 
of  a  game  formerly  played 
in  England  ;  and  tlie  name 
of   a    street    in     London. 
Written  also  pail-mail  and 
pell-mell^  both  pronounced 
as  above.     Pell-mell  used 
as  an  adverb  means  mixed 
together   in   a    disorderly 
manner;    but   one   person 
can  not  rush  pell-mell. 
Papaw— pa-paw^,   not  p6p^- 
paw  as  commonly   called. 
Written  also  pawpaw. 
Papyrus   —  pa-pi^rus,     not 
pap^i-rus.         A      material 
used  for  writing  upon    by 
the    ancients,    made    from 
the  inner  bark  of  a  plant. 
Parent — par''ent,  not  pa^rent. 
Parisian — pa-riz^ian,  not  pa- 
risl/ian    nor     pa-riss''ian. 
Worcester  gives  pa-rizh^i- 
an. 
Paroquet  —  par^o-quet,   not 

par-o-ket''. 
Parquet  —  par-ka''    or    piir- 
ket''.       Worcester     allows 
par-ka^  only. 
Parquette  —  piir-ket^,    not 

piir-ka,''. 
Partner,  not  pardner. 
Partridge,  noi  pattrij. 


34 


H'RftO^S    OF  Sl^EFCII. 


Patent.  The  adjective  is  pro- 
nounced either  patient  or 
pa^tent.  When  used  as  xi 
verb  or  a  noun  it  is  pro- 
noumted  pilt^ent. 

Patois  — pa,t-w6^,  not  pat^wS 
nor  pit-waw^. 

Patriot — pa'tri-ot,  not  pat^- 
ri-ot.  Patriotic,  patriot- 
ism, etc.,  have  also  the 
long  a.  Worcester  gives 
the  same  ""Aith  the  excep- 
tion of  patriotic,  wliich  he 
pronounces  both  pa^tri-ot- 
ic  and  pSt^ri-ot-ic. 

Patron  — pa'tron,  not  pat^ron. 
Patroness  and  patronless 
have  also  the  long  a. 

Patronize — pat^ron-ize,  not 
pa^tron-ize. 

Patronage — pat^ronaje,  not 
pa'tron-aje. 

Pease,  not  peas,  when  an  un- 
counted quantity  is  referred 
to,  as  :  a  bushel  of  pease,  a 
plateful  of  pease,  some 
more  pease,  etc  Peas  when 
a  certain  number  is  men- 
tioned, as :  a  dozen  peas, 
fifty  peas,  etc. 

Pedal  —  ped^al,  not  pe^dal, 
when  tiiat  portion  of  a 
piano  or  harp  that  is  acted 
npon  by  the  leet,  is  meant. 
Pfc''(lal  is  an  adjective,  and 
means  pertaining  to  the 
above,  or  to  a  foot. 

Perfect.  I  have  selected 
this  as  the  representative 
of  a  class  of  adjectives  that, 
strictly  speaking,  do  not 
admit  of  comparison.      I 


have  noticed,  invariably, 
that  those  who  appear  to 
be  so  anxious  to  correct 
the  error  of  giving  degrees 
of  comparison  to  a  fcAV 
stereotyped  words  of  thia 
class,  such  as  round,  square, 
universal,  chief,  extreme,  etc., 
are  singularly  remiss  in 
calling  attention  to  a  great 
many  other  mistakes  of  the 
same  kind  that  are  equally 
prominent.  Amongst  the 
latter  may  be  mentioned 
the  comparison  of  correct, 
complete,  even,  level,  straight, 
etc.  It  will  be  admitted 
that  if  anything  is  perfect 
it  can  not  be  more  so ;  and 
as  soon  as  it  is  less  so  it  fails 
to  be  perfect  at  all.  So,  if 
anything  is  correct  it  is 
perfectly  free  from  error ; 
it  can  not  be  made  more 
correct,  and  if  its  correct- 
ness is  detracted  from,  it 
is  not  quite  correct  any 
longer.  A  straight  line  is 
one  that  does  not  vary  from 
a  perfectly  direct  course  in 
the  slightest  degree;  it  can 
not  be  straighte-'  and  if  it 
could  be  less  straight,  it 
wou'.d  be  curved.  It  is  ri- 
diculous for  any  one  to  in- 
sist upon  a  national  refor- 
mation of  a  few  such  er- 
rors, and  sudor  a  hundred 
O' hers  just  like  tiiem  to  ex- 
ist without  remonstrance. 
Either  nearer  and  nearest, 
more  nearly,  and  most  near- 


J^finO^S    OF   S^EACJT. 


35 


ly,  and  the  like,  should  be 
substituted  for  tlie  degrees 
of  comparison  and  used 
witli  all  such  words ;  or 
people  should  treat  them 
as  all  other  adjectives,  just 
as  the  best  writers  and 
speakers  have  always  done. 
The  former  course  is  the 
more  desirable  ;  the  latter 
is  certainly  the  more  pi'ob- 
able. 
Perfidious  —  per-fid^i-ous, 
not  pSr''fid-ous.  "Worces- 
ter allows  per-fid^yus  in 
addition  to  the  first. 
Peony  (pe^-ny)  Pseony 
(pe^o-ny)  or  Piony  ipi^- 
o-ny)  not  pi^ny  as  often 
called.  A  flower. 
Perambulate,  not  preambu- 

late. 
Period — p3^ri-od,  not  per^i- 
od.       Periodic,    Period- 
ical,  etc.,   have  also   the 
long  e. 
Perspire,  not  prespire. 
Perspiration,    not  prespira- 

tion. 
Persuade.  This  word  car- 
ries with  it  the  idea  of  suc- 
cess in  one's  endeavors  to 
convince  or  induce.  "  I 
persuaded  him  for  a  long 
time,  but  he  would  not 
grant  my  request,"  should 
be,  "  I  tried  to  persuade 
him,"  etc. 
Petre! — pet^rel,  not  pe^trel. 
A  bird.  Worcester  allows 
the  latter  also. 


Phaeton  —  ph;Vet-on,  not 
pha^te-on.     A  vehicle. 

Pharmaceutist  -  fdr-ma-su^- 
tist,  not  fiir-ma-ku^tist  nor 
fdr-ma''ku-tist. 

Pharmacopoeia  —  fiir-ma-co- 
p5''ya,   not  far-ma-co^pi-a. 

Piano-  pi-a^no,  not  pi-ru/o. 
AVorcester  allows  pi-an^o. 

Piano-forte  — pi-ii^no-for^ta, 
not  pl-an^o-foi-t.  Worces- 
ter sanctions  pi-ii^no-for^te, 
pi-an^o-for-te,  and  remarks 
in  parenthesis,  often  pe-rm^- 
o-fort ;  but  the  last  pro- 
nunciation is  evidently  not 
preferred. 

Pilaster — pi-las^ter,  not  piK- 
as-ter.  A  square  pillar 
set  into  a  wall  and  project- 
ing slightly. 

Piquant — plk^ant,  not  pik^- 
want  nor  pek^want.  Piqu- 
antly  (pik^ant-ly),  etc. 

Placard  —  pla-kiird^,  not 
plak^ard. 

Placid — plas^id,  not  pla^sid. 
Placidly  and  placidness 
have  also  the  short  a. 

Plait — plat,  not  plat  nor  plet. 
A  braid  ;  or  to  braid.  Plat 
(plat)  is  a  proper  word, 
however,  having  the  same 
meanings,  but  the  differ- 
ence in  pronunciation  must 
be  observed,  when  the 
spelling  is  as  above.  Plait, 
meaning  a  fold  of  cloth,  as 
in  a  shirt  bosom,  is  also 
pronounced  plat.  How 
common  an  error  it  is  to 


86 


:Enno^s  of  s-peecii. 


speak  of  tlie  ^heM  when 
alluding  to  such  folds. 

Platina — plai^i-na  or  pla-te^- 
na,  not  pla-ti^na  nor  pla- 
tin^a.  Worcester  allows 
plat^i-na  only. 

Platinum  —  piat^i-num  or 
pla-tl^num,  not  pla-te^nuni 
nor  pla-tn/nm.  Worces- 
ter gives  plat^i-num  only. 

Plebeian  —  ple-be^ian,  not 
ple^bi-an.  Ple-bon',  as 
8ome  pronounce  it,  is  out- 
rageous, neither  French, 
English,  nor  Hottentot. 

Plenary  —  ple^na-ry,  not 
plen^'a-ry.  Full ;  entire. 
Worcester  gives  both  meth- 
ods. 

Poetaster  —  p5^et-as-ter,  not 
po'et-tast-er.  A  petty  poet. 

Poniard  —  pSn^yard,  not 
poa/yard. 

Posthumous— p6st^hu-mous, 
not  post^hu-mous  nor  post- 
u^mous.  Posthumously 
( p6st'hu-mous-ly ) . 

Potable— po^ta-ble,  not  pot'- 
a-ble.     Drinkable. 

Potheen  —  po-theen^,  not 
pO:-teen^.  When  spelled 
potteen,  however,  as  it 
may  be  correctly,  the  lat- 
ter pronunciation  is  prop- 
er. 

Prairie— pra^ry,  not  per-ra^- 
ry. 

Prebenda  r  y — p  r6b^end-a-ry , 
not  pre'bend-a-ry.  A 
clergyman  of  a  collegiate 
or  calhedral  church,  who 
enjoys  a  prebend. 


Prebend  —  prSVend,  not 
prc'bend.     A  stipend 

Precedence  —  pre-sGMence, 
not  pre.s^c-dence.  Prece- 
dency and  precedently, 
have  the  second  syllable 
accented  also. 

Precedent  — pre-se'dent,  not 
prSs''e-dent.  An  adjective 
meaning  antecedent. 

Precedent — pre.s^e-dent,  not 
pre-se^dent  nor  pre^se-dcnt. 
A  noun  meaning  an  exam- 
ple or  preceding  circum' 
stance.  Preoedented  and 
unprecedented  have  also 
the  short  e. 

Precocious  —  pre-ko^shus, 
not  pre-k6sh'u.-^.  Preco- 
ciously and  precocious- 
ness  have  also  the  long  o. 

Predatory— prgdVto-ry,  not 
pre^da-tory.  Plundering; 
pillaging. 

Predecessor  —  pred-e-c6s''- 
sor,  not  pve-de-ces^sor. 

Preface -pref^ace,  not  pre'' 
face-  Prefatory  (prfit^a- 
to-ry). 

Prejudice,  not  predudice. 

Prelate- preKate,  not  pre''- 
late. 

Presage,  not  prestige,  when 
something  is  meant  that 
foreshows  a  future  event ; 
an  omen.  "  This  is  a  p'es- 
cif/e  of  victory," 

Prescription,  not  perscrip- 
tion. 

Prestige,  not  presage,  when 
it  is  meant  tjiat  some  one 
carries  weight  or  influence 


Enno^s  OF  speech: 


37 


from  past  deeds  or  success- 
es. "The  predi(]G  of  the 
hero's  name  was  half  tlie 
battle." 

Presentiment  —  pre-sent^i- 
ment,  not  pre-zent^i-iuent. 

Pretty— prit^iv,  not  priS/ty. 
Prettily  (pritAi-ly),  etc. 

Preventive,  not  preventative. 

Primeval — pri-iae'val,  not 
prim'e-val. 

Process— pros^ess,  not  pro''- 
sess. 

Prodigy,  not  proj id y. 

Produce  —  prod^ace,  not 
produce.  The  noun  ;  the 
verb  is  pro-duce^. 

Product — prdd^uct,  not  pro^- 
duct. 

Progress  —  pr6g^ress,  not 
pr6''gress.  Noun  ;  the  verb 
is  pro-gress^. 

Prosody  —  pr6s^-dy,  not 
pro^so-dy  nor  proz^o-dy. 

Protean — pro^te-un,  not  pro- 
te'an.  Assuming  different 
shapes. 

Protege  (Fr.  protege) — pro- 
ta-zha',  not  pro^teje.  One 
under  the  care  of  another. 
Protegee  (PV.  protegee) — 
pro-ta-zha^,  feminine. 

Psalm  —  siim,  not  sam. 
Psalmist  (flim^ist).  Wor- 
cester gives  sam^Lst  also  for 
the  latter  word. 

Psalmody  —  s^lKmo-dy,  not 
siim^o-dy  nor  sam-o-*dy. 

Psychical  —  si^kik-al,  not 
sik^ik-al  nor  f  iz^ik-al,  as  it 
is  sometimes  thoughtlessly 
pronounced    in     reading. 


Pertaining  to  the  human 
soul. 

Pumpkin,  not  punkin.  Pnnip- 
kin  it.self  is  a  corruption 
of  pumpion  or  pompion,  but 
is  the  word  that  is  now 
generally  used. 

Purulent  —  pu^ru-lent,  not 
pur^u-lent.  Containing 
pus  or  matter.  Purulence 
and  purulency  have  also 
the  long  u  in  the  first  syl- 
hiMie. 

Put  -  p66t,  not  put.  This  an- 
omalous pronunciation  is 
hard  for  some  to  adopt, 
the  natural  tendency  being 
to  sound  the  u  as  it  is  in  a 
host  of  other  words  con- 
sisting of  two  consonants 
with  a  short  u  between 
them,  as :  I  un,  but,  cut, 
dug.  fun,  gun,  hut,  nut,  etc. 

Pyrites — i^I-ri^tez,  not  pe-ri''- 
tez,  pir^i-tez  nor  pi^ritez. 

Qualm — kwiim,  not  kwam. 
Worcester  allows  kwawm 
also. 

Quey — ke,  not  kwa. 

Querulous,  means  complain- 
ing, whining,  etc.,  and  not 
questioning. 

Quinine— kAvi^nme  or  kwi- 
nine^,  not  kwi-neen^.  Wor- 
cester gives  kwi-nine^  or 
kwh/ine. 

Quoit— kwoit,  not  kwate. 

Quoth — kwdth  or  kwuth,  not 
kw6th. 


38 


E^ftOHS    OF   STEECH. 


Rabies — nVbi-ez,  not  ra.b''- 
ez.  Madness,  as  that  of 
dogs. 

Radish— i-ad^isli,  not  r6d-ish. 

Raillery — i-aKler-y,  not  rfiK- 
ler-y.  Slight  ridicule ; 
pleasantry. 

Raise — Rise.  JRaise  is  a 
transitive  vei'b,  or  one  in 
which  the  action  passes 
over  to  an  object.  Present 
tense,  raise;  imperfect  tense 
and  past  participle,  raised; 
present  participle,  raising. 
Riseis  an  intransitive  verb, 
the  action  not  passing  over 
to  an  object,  Pi*esent  tense, 
rise;  imperfect  tense,  rose; 
past  participle,  risen/  pres- 
ent participle,  rising.  Er- 
rors in  the  use  of  these 
words  ought  to  be  avoided 
by  remembering  the  fol- 
lowing rules : 

1.  If  the  person  or  thing 
spoken  of  exerts  an  action 
that  passes  over  to  an  ob- 
ject, use  raise,  raised,  and 
raising. 

2.  If  the  person  or  thing 
spoken  of  exerts  an  action 
that  does  not  pass  over  to 
an  object,  use  rise,  rose, 
risen,  rising.  To  avoid 
further  repetition  in  the 
method  1  have  adopted  to 
impress  upon  the  mind  the 
difference  between  transi- 
tive and  intransitive  verbs 
by  contrasted  sentences,  I 


would  refer  the  reader  to 
the  remarks  under  Lay. 
"  I  will  raj.se  in  the  morn- 
ing at  five,"  should  be,  "  I 
will  rise,^'  etc.  "I  will 
raise  the  ivindow,''  etc.,  is 
correct,  for  the  action  pass- 
es to  or  affects  the  win- 
dow. "  I  will  7'aise  myself 
if  I  have  the  strength  "  is 
correct,  because  an  object, 
myself,  is  furnished.  *'  The 
price  of  flour  is  raising,^' 
should  be,  "  The  price  of 
flour  is  rising;  "  but  it  is 
right  to  say,  "  The  mer- 
chants are  raising  the  price 
of  flour."  "Gold  has 
raised  in  value,"  should 
be,  "  Gold  has  riseii  in 
value"  "The  price  of 
bonds  raised  in  less  than 
an  hour,"  should  be,  "  The 
price  of  bonds  rose,^^  etc. 
"The  sun  is  raising," 
should  be,  "  The  sun  is 
rising.'^  "  The  sun  is 
raising  the  temperature," 
is  proper.  The  pulse  has 
risen,  but  excitement  has 
raised  it.  The  river  has 
risen  in  its  bed  and  has 
raised  the  canal.  Birds  rise 
in  the  air.  Arise  can  of- 
ten be  appropriately  sub- 
stituted for  rise. 

Rampant  —  ram^pant,   not 
ram-pant^. 

Rapine— rip^in,  not  rilp^een 
nor  ra-peen^. 

Raspberry  —  nlz^ber-ry,  not 
rilss^ber-ry   nor  rawz'ber- 


En^on^  OF  s'puEcif. 


39 


ry.  Worcester  gives  raz^- 
ber-ry  and  rjis^ber-ry. 

Rational  —  rasl/un-al,  not 
rii-shnn-al.  Rationalist 
(rasl/un-al-ist),  etc. 

Recess — re-c6ss^,  not  re''cgss. 

Recherche  (Fr.  recherche) 
— riih-sher-sha^,  not  re- 
shersh^.  Worcester  gives 
ra-sher-sha''. 

Recluse— re-kluse'',  not  re- 
klnze^. 

Reconnoissance  —  re-c5n^- 
nois-san9e,  not  rek-on- 
nois^sanye.  Worcester 

gives  re-cQn^nois-siinpe^. 
Reconnaissance  is  another 
method  of  spelling. 

Recriminations,  not  mutual 
recrimination^;  the  word 
itself  tells  of  the  mutuality. 

Redolent  —  r6d^o-lent,  not 
redo^lent.  Diffusing  odor 
or  fragrance. 

Relevant,  not  revelant.  Per- 
tinent ;  applicable 

Relic,  not  relict,  when  that 
which  remains,  a  corpse, 
or  anything  preserved  in 
remembrance,  is  meant. 
Relict  means  a  widow. 

Rendezvous  —  r6n^de-voo, 
not  r6n^de-v6o  nor  rgn^de- 
vooz.  Worcester  gives 
r6n^de-voo  and  r§n^de- 
vo5z.  The  plural  is  ren- 
dezvouses (rgn^de-vooz- 
ez). 

Requiem  —  re^kwi-em,  not 
r6k''wi-em.  Worcester 

gives  both  pronunciations. 

Resume  (Fr.  resume)  —  ra- 


zu-miV,  not  re-zurae^  nor 
re-zu^ma.  Worcester  gives 
rez-n-ma^. 

Reticule,  not  ridicule,  when 
a  little  bag  of  net-work  is 
meant. 

Reveille  — re-vaKya,  not  r6v- 
a-le^.  Worcester  gives  the 
first  and  re-vaK. 

Ribald— rib^ald,  not  ribald. 
Low;  obscene.  Ribaldry 
(rib^ald-ry). 

Rinse — rinss,  not  rSnse  nor 
wrgncli.  "  Wrench  your 
mouth,"  said  an  unedu- 
cated dentist  to  a  patient 
after  wrenching  out  a  large 
molar.  ''  Thank  you,"  re- 
plied the  patient.  "  You 
have  done  that,  but  I'll 
rinse  it,  if  you  please." 

Ripples,  not  riffles. 

Romance  —  ro-manss'',  not 
ro''mans's. 

Roseate — ro^ze-at,  not  roz^- 
ate.  Worcester  gives  ro^- 
zlie-at  also. 

Roue  (Fr.  roue)  — roo-a'',  not 
roo.  Worcester  gives 
roo^a 


S. 

Sacerdotal  —  sas-er-d5^tal, 
not  sa-ser-do'tal,  sa-ker- 
do^tal  nor  sak-er-do^tal- 

Sacrament  —  sak^ra-ment, 
not  sa^kra-ment.  Sacra- 
mental (sak^ra-ment-al), 
etc. 

Sacrifice  —  sSk^ri-fTz,  not 
s3-k^ri-fis   nor    sa,k^ri-fise. 


40 


EnJiOnS    OF  STBECH. 


Verb  and  noun  the  same. 
Sacrificing  (sak^ri-fi- 

ztnij),  etc. 

Sacristan  —  sak''rist-an,  not 
sa^krist-ar.  nor  sa-kri.s''tan. 
Sacristy  (s;tk^ri.si-y). 

Sal  am  —  sa-IIim^,  not  sa-lS.m''. 
Written  salaam  also,  and 
pronounced  similarly. 

Saline — su-line^  or  sa^llne, 
not  sa-ieen^.  Worcester 
gives  sa-line''  only. 

Salve — siiv,  not  sSv.  Wor- 
cester gives  siilv  also. 

Samaritan  —  sa-ma,r^i-tan, 
not  sa-ma^'ri-t'in. 

Sanitary,  not  sanatory,  when 
pertaining  to  health  is 
meant.  Sanatory  is  more 
restricted  in  its  applica- 
tion, and  means  healing; 
curative. 

Saracen — sSr^a-sen,  not  ?^r^- 
a-ken. 

Sarsaparilla —  siir-sa-pa-rlF- 
la,  not  sas-sa-pa-riKla,  nor 
sar-sa-fa-riKla. 

Satyr  —  sa''tur,  according  to 
Webster.  Worcester  gives 
sat^ir  also. 

Saucy — saw^sy,  not  sassy. 

Said.  Said  (sSd),  not  says 
(s6z),  in  speaking  of  past 
remarks.  Many  of  the 
most  cultivated  people  are 
guilty  of  this  vulgarism. 
''  '  1  will  call  to  see  you 
soon,'  862  he."  "'I  will 
be  glad  to  see  you  at  any 
time,'  sez  I."  Where  the 
details  of  a  long  conversa- 
tion are  given  the  frequent 


repetition  of  sez^  or  even 
said,  is  very  grating  to  the 
retined  ear.  The  use  of 
asked,  inquired,  remarked, 
suggested,  answered,  replied, 
etc.,  instead,  has  a  pleas- 
ing effect  upon  narrative 
or  anecdote.  It  is  prefer- 
able, also,  to  give  the  exact 
ivords  of  the  speaker  after 
said,  etc.,  as:  "When  he 
had  finislit^'il  reaaing  the 
letter,  he  said :  '  I  will  at- 
tend to  the  business  the 
first  leisure  moment  I 
have.'  "  When  the  word 
tkat  follows  the  soid,  the 
substance  only  of  the  re- 
mark may  be  given,  as : 
"  He  said  that  he  would 
attend  to  the  business  the 
first  leisure  moment  he 
had."  Whichever  form 
is  used  in  narrative,  it  is 
not  at  all  harmonious  to 
give  the  exact  words  of  one 
speaker  and  only  the  sub- 
stance  of    the  remarks  of 

.  another,  at  least  without 
regard  to  regularity  in 
alternation. 

Schism — sizm,  not  skism. 

Seckel,  not  sick-el.  A  kind 
of  pear. 

See.  It  is  not  uncommon 
to  meet  with  people  that 
incorrectly  use  see  in  the 
imperfect  tense,  as  :  "  I  see 
him  yesterday,"  instead  of, 
"  I  saw  him  yesterday." 
See  is  never  used  in  any 
tense  but  the  present,  with- 


£jnftOltS    OF   STEJEJCir. 


41 


out  an  auxiliary,  as  did, 
shall,  etc. 

Seignior — sen^yur,  not  san^- 
yor. 

Seine — sen,  not  san.  A  net 
tor  catching  fish. 

Senile — se^nile,  not  s6n^ile. 
Pertaining  to  old  age. 

Separate,  not  stpende.  The 
loss  of  the  a  is  not  noticed 
in  the  pronunciation,  but 
the  mistake  frequently  oc- 
curs in  writing  this  word 
as  it  does  in  the  words  in- 
separable, inseparable- 
ness,  separation,  etc. 

Servile — ser'vil,  not  -j/vile. 

Set.  Noun.  There  are 
many  who  incorrectly  use 
sett  in  writing  of  a  set  of 
dishes,  a  set  of  chess-men, 
a  set  of  teeth,  or  of  some 
other  collection  of  things 
of  the  same  kind.  A  sett 
is  a  piece  placed  upon  the 
head  of  a  pile  for  striking 
upon,  when  the  pile  can 
not  be  reached  by  the 
weight  or  hammer. 

Set — ^Sit.  Blunders  in  the 
use  of  these  words  are 
amongst  the  most  common 
we  have.  Set,  as  we  shall 
first  consider  it,  is  a  trans- 
itive verb,  or  one  in  which 
the  action  passes  over  to  an 
object.  Present  tense,  set; 
imperfect  tense  and  past 
participle,  set;  present  par- 
ticiple, setting.  Sit  is  an 
intransitive  verb,  or  one 
which  has  no  object  after 


it.  Present  tense,  sit;  im- 
perfect tense  and  past  par- 
ticiple, sat;  present  parti- 
ciple, sitting 

To   avoid   repetition    as 
much  as  possible,  I  would 
refer  any  one  to  whom  the 
explanation  here  given  is 
not  perfectly  clear,  to  the 
rules   and  remarks   under 
Lay  and  Raise,  v.  hich  are 
equally    applica^-le    here. 
"  Will    you    set    on     this 
chair?"  should  be,  "Will 
you    sit    on    this   chair?" 
"  Will   you   set   thi?  chair 
in    the   other   room  ? "    is 
correct.       "  I   set   for    ray 
picture  yesterday,"  should 
be,    *'[   sat,''   etc.     ''This 
hat  sets  well,"  should    be, 
"This     hat     sits      Avell." 
''  Court  sets  next  month," 
should  be,  "Court  sits  next 
month."     "  The   hen    has 
been  setting   for  a  week," 
should  be,  ''The  hen  has 
been     sitting,^^     etc.        As 
cross    as    a    setting    hen," 
should  be,  "  As  cross  as  a 
sitting  hen."    But  a  person 
may  set  a   hen ;    that  is, 
place  her  in   position  on 
eggs.      One   sits   up   in   a 
chair,  but    he    sets    up   a 
post.      One   sits   down   on 
the    ground,    but    he    sets 
down  figures.     Set  is  also 
an   intransitive   verb    and 
has   special   meanings   at- 
tached to  it   as   such,  but 
they  may  be  readily  un- 


42 


^fmOHS    OF  Sl^Ei:CF£. 


derstoocl  by  a  little  study 
of  the  dictionary,  and  no 
confusion  need  arise.  The 
sun  se's.  Plaster  of  Paris 
sefe.  A  setter  dog  %eU. 
One  Mb  out  on  a  journey. 
Sit  may  also  be  used  in 
two  senses  as  a  transitive 
verb,  as  :  *'  The  general 
8\t?,  his  horse  well,"  and 
''  The  woman  sat  herself 
down." 

Sew  -  so,  not  su. 

Shampoo,  not  shampoon. 
Shampooing.  Written  al- 
so champoo. 

Shekel — shCk^el,  notshe^kel. 

Shumac — shu^mai<,  not  shu- 
mak^.  Written  also  su- 
mac and  sumach,  both  ac- 
cented on  the  first  sylla- 
ble. 

Sick  of,  not  sick  with,  as  sick 
of  a  fever. 

Sienna — si-6n^na,  not  senna, 
when  paint  is  meant.  Sen- 
na is  a  plant  used  as  med- 
icine. 

Simultaneous  —  sl-mul-tf/- 
ne-ous,  not  sia/ul-ta^ne- 
ous.  Simultaneously  (si- 
mul-ta'ne-ous-ly),  etc. 

Since,  not  sence. 

Sinecure  —  si^ne-cure,  not 
sin'^e-cure.  An  office  which 
yields  revenue  without  la- 
bor. 

Sit.     See  Sat. 

Slake  — slake,  not  sliik,  when 
the  word  is  spelled  as 
given,  as :  slaked  lime,  to 
slake   one's  thirst,  etc.     If 


spelled  slack,  the  ordinary 

pronunciation  is  right. 
Slough  -  slow,  not   slo5  nor 

slo.      A  mud  hole.      Writ- 

teii  sloo  (sloo)  also. 
Slough — sluf,  not  as   above. 

The  cast  skin  of  a  serpent. 

Dead  flesh  which  separates 

from  the  living.   The  verb 

expressing    this   action    is 

pronounced  the  same. 
Sobriquet  —  so-bri-ka^,  not 

written  soubriquet.  Worces- 

terpronounces  it  s6b^re-ka''. 
Soften -s6f^fn,  not  sawf'^ten. 
Sonnet  —  sSn^net,  not  sun^- 

net. 
Soot — soot  or  s56t,  not  sut. 
Soporific  —  s5p-o-rif^ik,  not 

so-por-irik. 
Sotto  Voce  —  s5t^to  vo^cha, 

not  sQL^to   vos^   nor   s6t^to 

v5^se. 
Souse   —  souss,   not  sowze. 

To  plunge  into  water. 
Spasmodic,  not  spasmotic. 
Spectacles  — sp6k^ta-kls,  not 

Kpek^tik^els. 
Spermaceti  —  sperm-a-se''ti, 

not  sperm-a-pit^y. 
Spider,  not  spiter. 
Splenetic  —  splgn^e-tic,  not 

sple-n6t^ic.    Fretful ;  jieev- 

isli. 
Spoliation   —  spo-li-a^tion, 

not  spoil-action. 
Spurious  —  spu^ri-ous,  not 

spur^i-oiis.         Spuriously 

(spiVri-ous-ly),  etc. 
Statical — stilt^i-cal,  not  sta''- 

ti-cal.     Pertaining  to  bod- 
ies at  rest. 


I^n'ROfiS    or   ST^ECH. 


43 


stationery,  not  stationary, 
when  paper, envelopes,  ink, 
etc.,  me  meant. 

Statue,  not  statute,  when  a 
carved  image  is  meant. 

Statute,  not  statue,  when  a 
hiw   or    decree   is    meant. 

Stearine — ste^a-rin,  notstgr^- 
In. 

Stereoscope  (ste^re-o-scope), 
stereotype  (ste^re-o-type), 
etc.,  according  to  Webster  ; 
and  st6r^e-o-scope,  ster'e- 
o-type,  etc.,  according  to 
Worcester 

Stolid  —  stdKid,  not  sto^lid. 
Stupid  ;  dull. 

Stratum  —  striatum,  not 
strat^um.  Strata  (stra^ta), 
the  Latin  plural  is  used 
much  more  than  the  Eng- 
lish stratums.  Errors  like 
"a  strata  of  gravel,"  are 
also  not  unfi;equently 
heard. 

Strategic  —  stra-te^jik,  not 
straf'e-jik.  Strategical 
(stra-te^ji-cal)  and  strate- 
gist (strat^e-jist).  AVor- 
cester  gives  stra-t6j^ic  and 
stra-tej''i-cal. 

Strum  or  Thrum  should  be 
used,  and  not  drum,  when 
the  noisy  and  unskillful 
fingering  of  a  musical  in- 
stiument  is  meant. 

Stupendous  —  stu-pen^dus, 
not  stu-pgn^jus  nor  stu- 
pen^de-us. 

Suavity  —  swav''ity,  not 
swiiv^i-ty  nor  suav'i-ty. 

Subtraction,  not  substraction, 


when  the  act  of  deducting 
is  meant.  Substraction 
is  a  law  term  meaning  the 
"withholding  of  some  right, 
for  which,  however,  the 
word  subtraction  is  also 
used.  Subtract,  not  siib- 
stract. 

Subtile— sub^til,  not  siit^tle. 

Subtle— suf'tle,  not   siib^tle. 

Suffice — suf-fiz^,  not  suf-fis^. 

Suicidal — su-i-si^dal,  not  su- 
is^i-dal.  Worcester  places 
the  principal  accent  on  the 
first  syllable. 

Suite  —  sweet,  not  sate. 
When  the  word  suit  is 
used,  however,  the  lat- 
ter pronunciation  is  cor- 
rect. 

Sulphurous  —  siiKphur-us, 
not  sul-phu^rus  nor  siil- 
plm^re-us.  Sulphureous 
is  another  word. 

Summoned,  not  summonsed. 

Supersede,  superseded,  su- 
perseding. Observe  the 
s  in  the  penultimate.  It  is 
a  common  error  to  write 
supercede,  etc 

Supposititious  —  sup-pos-i- 
ti^shus,  not  sup-po-si^shus. 
Put  by  a  trick  in  the  place 
of  another,  as,  a  suppositi- 
tious child,  a  supposititious 
record. 

Surtout— sur-toot^,  not  sur- 
towt^  nor  stir^toot. 

Swath —swawth,not  swawthe. 
Worcester  gives  sw6th. 
The  SAveep  of  the  scythe 
in  mowing. 


44 


Efinofts  OF  ste:ecb:. 


T. 
Tabernacle  —  tab''er-na-cle, 

not  tab^er-nilk^cle. 

Tapestry  —  tfip^es-try,  not 
ta^pes-try. 

Tarlatan  —  tiir^la-tan,  not 
tar/tun.  Tartan  is  a  dif- 
ferent material. 

Tarpaulin  — tar-paw^lin,  not 
tar-po^lin.  Written  also 
tarpauling  and  tarpawl- 
ing. 

Tartaric — tar-titr^ic,  not  tar- 
tar^ic.  Pertaining  to  or 
obtained  f:om  tartar,  as 
tartaric  acid. 

Tassel — tas^sel,  not  taw^sel- 
Worcester  gives  tSs^sl  also. 

Tatterdemalion —  tat-ter-de- 
marion,  not  tat-ter-de- 
niaKion. 

Telegraphy  —  te-l6g^ra-pliy, 
not  tt'Ke-graph-y. 

Telegraphist  —  te-l6g'ra- 
phist,  not  teFe-graph-ist. 
A  telegraphic  operator, 
No  such  word  as  telegraph- 
er is  given. 

Terpsichorean  —  terp-sik-o- 
re^an,  not  terp-si-ko^re-an. 
Kelating  to  Terpsichore 
(terp-sik''o-re),  the  muse 
who  pusided  over  danc- 
ing. 

Tete-a-tete  —  tat-a-tat ,  not 
teet-il-teet. 

Theatre  or  theater  —  the^a- 
ter,  not  the-a^ter. 

Threshold  —  thrSsh^old,  not 
threz/old  nor  thrSz^hold. 
Worcester  gives  thrgsh^- 
hold. 


Thyme — tim,  not  as  spelled. 

Tic-douloureux  —  tik^doo- 
Joo-roo^,  not  -d6l-o-ro5^ 
nor  -do-lo-roo''. 

Tiny— ti^ny,  not  tee^ny  nor 
tii/y. 

Tolu — to-lu'',  not  tu^Iu. 

Tomato  —  to-nuVto  or  to- 
ma^to,  not  to-mat^o- 

Topographic- t5p-o-griipl/- 
ic,  not  to-po-grapl/ic. 
Topographical  and  topo- 
graphically have  also  the 
short  o  in  the  first  syllable. 

Tour — toor,  not  towr. 

Tournament  —  tiir^na-ment, 
according  to  V/ebster.  Wor- 
cester gives  toor^na-ment 
also. 

Toward  and  towards  —  to''- 
ward  and  to^wurdz,  not  to- 
ward^ and  to-  Viirdz^. 

Tragacanth  —  uiig^a-kanth, 
not  traj^a-sinth  nor  tnlg^a- 
sttnth.  A  gum  used  for 
mucilage. 

Traverse  —  triiv^erse,  not 
tra-verse^  Traversable, 
traversing  and  traversed 
have  also  the  accent  on 
the  first  syllable. 

Tremendous  —  tre-mgn^dus, 
not  tre-m6n^de-us  nor  tre- 
mfin'^jus. 

Trilobite  —  tri^o-bite,  not 
triKo-bite  nor  tr5Klo-bIte, 
as  it  is  often  called. 

Troche — tro'kee,  not  trosh, 
tro''she,  troke  nor  tr5tch. 
Plural,  troches  (tro^keez). 
A  lozenge  composed  of  su- 
gar,  mucilage   and  medi- 


E^nons    OF  STEECIT. 


45 


cine,  as  :   bronchial  troches. 

Trochee  —  tro^'kee,  is  a 

foot  in  poetry. 
Truculent-  tru^ku-lent,  not 

truk^u-lent. 
Truths  — truths,    not   truthz, 

is  the  plural  of  truth. 
Tryst — trist,    not  trist.     An 

appointment       to       meet. 

Tryster   (trist^er),    tryst- 

ing  (trist^ing). 
Turbine — tiir^bin,  not  tiir^- 

blne.      A   kind   of    water 

wheel. 

TJ. 

Umbrella  —  um-br5Kla,  not 

uii:-ber-r6l''    nor    um-ber- 

rgKla. 
Upas — ii^pas,  not  u^paw  nor 

i/pawz. 
Usurp  —  yu-zurp'',   not   yu- 

surp^.   Usurper  (yu-zurp^- 

er),  etc. 

Vagary — va-ga''ry,  not  va''- 
ga-ry. 

Valenciennes  —  va-]6n''si- 
enz^,  not  val-gn-seenz^.  A 
French  lace. 

Valleys,  not  rallies,  is  the 
plural  of  valley. 

Vamos  (va^mos),  or  vamose 
( va-mose^),  not  vam-moos''. 
To  depart.     (Inelegant.) 

Vase,  according  to  Webster; 
vase  or  vaze,  according  to 
Worcester.  The  pronun- 
ciations vaz  and  vawz  are 
alluded  to  but  not  recom- 
mended. 


Vehemence  —  ve^he-mence, 
not  ve-he^'mence  nor  ve^ 
hem^ence.  Vehemently 
and  vehement  have  also 
the  accent  on  the  first  syl- 
lable. 

Vermicelli  —  ver-me-ch6l-ll 
or  ver-me-seKli,  not  ver- 
me-siKly.  Worcester  sanc- 
tions the  first  method  only. 

Veterinary  —  vet^er-in-a-ry, 
not  ve-t&r^in-a-ry. 

Vicar  —  vik^ar,  not  vi^kar. 
Vicarage  and  vicarship 
have  also  the  short  i  in  the 
first  syllable. 

Violent  (vi^o-lent),  violence 
(vi^o-lence),  violet  (vi^o- 
let),  violin  (vi-o-lin^),  etc., 
not  voi^o-lent,  voi^o-lence, 
voi^o-let,  voi-o-lin^  etc. 

Viscount — vi^kount,  not  vis''- 
kount.  Viscountess  (vi^- 
kountess),  etc. 

Visor — viz^or,  not  vi^'zor. 

Wake,  etc.  Wake  is  both  a 
transitive  and  an  intransi- 
tive verb.  Present  tense, 
wake;  imperfect  and  past 
participle,  waked;  present 
participle,  ivaking.  Awake 
is  also  both  transitive  and 
intransitive.  Present, 

aimke;  imperfect,  awoke  or 
awaked;  participles,  awaked 
and  awaking.  Awaken  is 
another  verb,  boih  transi- 
tive and  intransitive.  Pres- 
ent, awaken;  imperfect  and 


46 


^Ji^OnS    OF   SIPEBCJI, 


past  participle,  avjakened; 
present  participle,  awaken- 
ing. Thus  it  is  seen  that 
we  have  a  great  many 
words  to  express  the  fact 
of  being  in  a  conscious 
state,  and  the  arousing  of 
a  person  who  is  asleep. 
With  a  little  attention 
there  is  no  reason  for  com- 
mitting an  error  in  the 
use  of  these  words.  One 
may  say  that  he  ivaked, 
awoke,  or  aivakened  early 
in  the  morning,  but  it  is 
wrong  to  say  that  he  woke 
in  the  morning,  or  that  he 
ivoke  another  ;  for  there  is 
no  such  word  as  woke.  '"  I 
wakened  at  live  o'clock," 
should  be,  "  I  aivakened  at 
five  o'clock  ;  "  for  there  is 
no  such  word  as  ivukened. 
Vp  is  used  only  with  wake, 
waked  and  waking,  but 
even  then  it  is  one  of  our 
most  senseless  superflui- 
ties. There  is  no  stronger 
meaning  in  the  assertion 
that  a  man  was  waked  np, 
than  that  he  was  waked  or 
awakened.  If  waking  up 
meant  to  loake  and  make 
get  up,  it  would  be  differ- 
ent, but  it  does  not.  One 
may  be  waked  up  and  it  is 
just  as  likely  that  he  will 
go  to  sleep  again  as  if 
he  were  simply  awakened. 
Awake     and     awaken    are 


more  elegant  words  than 
wake. 

Wassail — wos^sil,  not  wils^- 
sil.  A  festive  occasion, 
carousal,  the  song  sung  at 
such  a  time,  etc.  The  verb 
and  the  adjective  are 
spelled  and  pronounced 
similarly. 

Water — waw^ter,  not  w6t^er. 

Welsh,  not  Welch.  The  lat- 
ter word  is  seldom  used. 
Welshman,  etc. 

Whinny,  not  winny,  when  the 
cry  of  a  horse  is  spoken  of. 

Whisk,  not  lohist,  when 
a  small  hand-broom  is 
meant.  Wisp,  however, 
is  a  proper  word,  meaning 
the  same  thing. 

Whiting  is  preferable  to 
whitening. 

Widow.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  say  widow  woman;  no 
one  will  suspect  her  of 
being  a  man. 

Wrestle— rgs^l,  not  rils^sl. 

IT. 

Yacht — y6t,  not  yat.   Yacht- 
ing (ySt^ing),  etc. 
Yeast — yest,  not  est. 
Yellow— yeKlo,  not  yiino. 

Z. 

Zoology — zo-6Ko-jy,  not  zoo- 
6ro-iy.  Zoological  (zo- 
o-l6j''i-cal),  etc. 


SCRIPTURAL,  MYTHOLOGICAL  AND 
OTHER  PROPER  NAMES. 


In  the  vocabulary  just  completed,  it  has  been  the 
design  to  point  out  the  majority  of  errors  occurring 
in  the  pronunciation  of  the  words  usually  selected  by 
people  of  fair  or  excellent  education  to  carry  on  or- 
dinary English  discourse.  In  the  portion  of  the 
work  now  under  consideration,  nothing  like  such 
thoroughness  is  contemplated. 

After  a  moment's  reflection,  it  will  appear  to  any 
one,  that  to  mention  the  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  proper  names,  the  erroneous  pronunciation  of 
which  is  rather  to  be  expected  than  the  correct, 
would  require  an  elaborate  volume.  Every  one  who 
has  striven  to  become  a  fine  orthoepist  has  longed 
for  the  ability  to  comprehend  the  pronunciation  of 
that  myriad  of  names,  any  one  of  which  is  apt  to 
confront  him  in  any  book  or  paper  he  may  chance 
to  pick  up.  But  to  become  a  proficient  in  this  re- 
spect would  require  years  of  study  and  a  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  many  foreign  languages. 

Amongst  geographical  names,  for  example,  who 
but    the    specially  instructed   would    think  of   pro- 

(47) 


48  E^^onS    OF  Sf'EECB:. 

nouncing  correctly  Goe%  (Hooce),  Gelves  (Hel'ves) 
or  Jalapa  (Hii-la'pa)  ;  or  amongst  biographical 
names,  Gaj  (gi),  Gtel  (Hal)  or  Gei'jer  (gi'er). 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  reputation  of  those  who  bear 
the  name  of  being  good  scholars,  that  errors  in  the 
pronunciation  of  most  proper  names  are  excusable, 
which  is  not  the  case  with  the  mistakes  that  have 
before  been  laid  down.  But  there  are  some  proper 
names,  of  such  constant  occurrence  in  daily  lectures, 
heading  and  conversation,  that  errors  connected  with 
them  are  not  to  be  overlooked.  It  is  the  intention 
here,  simply  to  call  attention  to  the  more  common  of 
these,  and  to  lead  the  reader  to  appreciate  the  fact 
that  if  one  depends  upon  the  usual  power  of  the  En- 
glish letters  to  gain  a  correct  pronunciation  of 
proper  names,  he  will  be  more  often  led  astray  than 
otherwise. 

The  Authorities  consulted  are  the  best — Webster, 
AVorcester,  Lippincott's  Universal  Pronouncing  Dic- 
tionary of  Biography  and  Mythology  and  Lippin- 
cott's Pronouncing  Gazetteer  of  the  World. 


SCRIPTURAL  NAMES. 


A  bed  n  ego — a-b6d''ne-go,  not 

ab-gd-ne^go. 
Abiathar  —  a-bi^a-lliar,  not 

ab-i-a^thar. 
Adonibezek  —  a-dSn-i-be'- 

z6k,  not  a-dSn'i-be-zek. 
Adonijah  —  ad-o-ni^jah,  not 

a-d5n^i-jah. 
Agee — 5.g^e-e,  not  a^je- 
Ahasuerus  —  a-ha.s-u-e''rus, 

not  a-haz-ii-6r^us. 
Aijalon  —  aj^a-lon,  not  a^ja- 

lon. 
Akrabattine  —  ak-ra-bat-ti''- 

ne,  not  ak-ra-bSt^i-ne. 
Alpheus — al-phe^us,  not  &V- 

phe-ns. 
Amasai — a-m5s"'a-i,  not  am- 

a-sa^i. 
Andronicus  —  an-dron-i''cus, 

not  an-dr5n^i-cus. 
Antiochia — an-ti-o-ki^a,  not 

an-ti-o^kia. 
Ararat  —  ai-^a-rat,  not  a^'ra- 

rat. 
Arimathea  —  ai-^i-ma-the'a, 

not  ar-i-ma''the-a. 
Aristobulus— ar-is-to-bu^lus, 

not  ar-is-t5b'u-lus. 
Aroer— 5r^o-er,  not  a-ro^er. 
Aroerlte  —  S,r^o-er-ite,    not 

a-ro^er-ite 


Asarael — a-sS,r^a-el,  not  az- 

a-ra^el. 
As  mode  us — az-mo-de^us,  not 

az-mo^de-us. 
Beelzebub   —  be-6Kze-bub, 

not  bSl^ze-bnb. 
Belial — be^li-al,  not  be-li''al. 
Bethhaccerem  —  b6th-hak^- 

pe-rem,     not     beth-has^se- 

rem. 
Bethphage-beth^pha-je,  not 

bgth^phaje. 
Bethuel     —    be-tlm^el,   not 

bethel -el. 
Cainan — ka-i^'nan,   not   ka^- 

nan. 
Cherub  fa  city) — ke''rub,  not 

cher^ub. 
Chittim  —  kif'tim,  notchit''- 

tira. 
Chloe — klo^e,  not  klo. 
Crates — kra^tez,  not  kratz. 
Cyprians  —  sip^ri-anz,   not 

si^pri-anz. 
Delilah  —  d2Ki-lah,  not  de- 

iriah. 
Ecbatana  — ek-bat^a-na,  not 

ek-ba-ta''na. 
Eloi  — e-lo'i.  not  e^loi. 
Esther — 6s^ter,  not  gs^ther. 
Eumenes   —  u'me-nez,  not 

u-me^nez. 


(49) 


50 


JESSOnS    OF   STEECJT. 


Gennesaret —  g5n-nes^a-ret, 

not  jen-nes''a-ret. 
Gerar  -ge^rar,  not  je^rai-. 
idumea — id-u-me^a,  not  i-du- 

nie^a. 
Iturea  —  it-u-re^a,  not  i-tu- 

r5'a. 
Jacubus — ja-ku^bus,notjak^- 

u-bns. 
Jadau  —  ja-da^u,  not  j3,d^- 

a-ii, 
Jairus    (Old   Test.)   —  ja^i- 

rns. 
Jairus  (New  Test.)  —  j:'i.-i'- 

rns. 
Jearim— je''a-rim,  not  je-a'- 

rim. 
Jelel — je-i^el,  not  je^el    nor 

jl^el." 
Jephthae  — j6pl/tha-e,    not 

jt'j)l/tlia. 
Jeshohaiah — j6sh-o-ha-i^ah, 

not  jesh-o-ha^yah. 
Keilah  —  ke^lah,  not  kriah 

nor  ke-i^lah. 
Kolaiah — k5l-a-i^ah,  not  k51- 

ii^yah. 
Labana  —  lab^a-na,    not  la- 

bjVna. 
Lebanah— I6b''a-nah,  not  le- 

biVnab. 
Magdalene  —  nifig-da-le^ne, 

not  nutg^'da-lene. 
Mahalath  —  ma^'ha-lath,  not 

ina-lir/Iath. 
Mardocheus — mar-do-ke''iis, 

not  niar-do^ke-us. 
Matthias  —  matb-tbl^as,  not 

niatb^tbi-as. 
Meremoth  — nier^e-motb,  not 

me-re^niotb. 


Meshach   —    me^'shak,     not 

niiSsb^ak. 
Methuselah —  me-tbu^se-lah, 

not  mStb-u^ze-lah. 
Moosias  —  mo-o-si^as,    not 

mo^si-as. 
Nebuchadnezzar  —  n$b^u- 

kad-ne//zar,    not    ne-bCik^- 

kad-nez^zar. 
Orthosias  — or-tho-si^as,  not 

6r-tbo'si-as. 
Othonias  —  6th-o-nras,  not 

otb-o^ni-as. 
Oziel — o^zi-el,  not  o-zi^el. 
Penuel — pe-nu^el,  not  p6n'- 

ii-el. 
Perseus  —  per^sus,  not  per^- 

se-us. 
Pethuel    —    pe-tbu^el,    not 

petb^i-el. 
Phanuel   —   pha-nu^el,    not 

plian^n-el. 
Pharaoh — pb:Vr5  or  phii^ra 

o,  not  phar^o  nor  pbar^a-o. 
Philippi   —  phi-lip^pi,    not 

phiKlip-pi. 
Philistine  —  phi-lis^tin,  not 

pbiKis-tine. 
Pontius   —   p6n''shi-us,   not 

p5n^ti-ns. 
Raguel— ra-gu'el,  not  rslg^n- 

el. 
Sabachthani — sa-bak-tha^ni, 

not  sa-biik^tba-ni. 
Sathrabuzanes  —    satb-ra- 

bu-za^nez,  not  s3,th-rab^u- 

zilnz. 
Shabbethai  — shab-b6tb^a-T, 

not  sbab-bgth-a^I 
Shadrach   —  sbiVdrak,  not 

sbad^rak. 


EfiftOnS    OF   STBJECH^. 


Shemlpamoth  —  she-mir^a-* 
moth,  not  sli6m-i-ra^- 
niotli. 

Shemuel  —  she-niu^el,  not 
sliem''u-el. 

Sinai — si^na,  not  si^na-i. 


51 
zak-ke''us,    not 


Zaccheus  - 

zak^ke-us 
Zerubbabel —  ze-rQb^a-bel, 

not  ze-rub-ba^bel. 
Zipporah  —  zip-p6^rah,  not 

zip^po-rah. 


GREEK  AND   LATIN   PEOPER  NAMES- 
MYTHOLOGICAL,  ETC. 


Actseon — 3.k-te^on,  not  ak''- 

te-on. 
Adonis— a-do''nis,  not  a-d6n''- 

is. 
Alcides — 3,l-si''dez,  not  aKsi- 

dez. 
Amphion  —  5,m-phi^on,   not 

riiu^])lii-on. 
Amphitrite  —  am-phi-tri^te, 

not    iirn^phi-trite  nor   am- 

phit^ri-te. 
Anabasis  —  a-nab^a-sis,  not 

'an-a-ba^sis. 
Antiope— iln-tro-pe,  not  tin''- 

ti-ope  nor  lin-ti-o^pe. 
An u bis — a-nu^bis,  not  iln^'u- 

bis. 
Arion — a-ri^on,  not  a^ri-on. 
Aristides  —  ar-is-ti^dez,  not 

ar-is^ti-dez. 
Aristogiton —  a-ris-to-ji^ton, 

not  ar-is-t6j^i-ton. 
Belides     (sing;ilar,     mascu- 
line)— be-irdez. 
Belides  (plural,  female   de- 
scendants of  Belus) — bfiK- 

i-dez. 
Belierophon     —    bel-ler^o- 

plion,  not  bel-ler-o^pbon. 
Caeculus — sek^u-lus,  not  se^- 

ku-lus. 


Calliope  —  kal-lTo-pe,    not 

kal-li-6'pe  nor  kaKli-ope. 
Caucasus  —  kaw'ka-sus,  not 

kaw-ka'sus. 
Charon  —  k:Vron,  not  cha^- 

ron  nor  char^on. 
Chaeronea  —  ker-o-ne^a,  not 

cher-o-ne^a. 
Chimera     —    ke-me^ra,  not 

kini^er-a  nor  chi-m6r^a. 
Codrus — ko^drus,   not  kod^- 

rus. 
Corcyra   —  kor-sl^ra,     not 

kor^si-ra. 
Coriolanus  —  ko-ri-o-la^nus, 

not  kor-i-6Ka-nus. 
Crete— kre^te,  not  kreet. 
Cyclades  —  sik^la-dez,   not 

sl^kla-dez. 
Cyclops — srklops,  not  sik''- 

lops. 
Cyclopes  —  si^klopez,  not 

si^kiops. 
Cyrene  —  si-re^ne,    not   si- 
ren e^. 
Cyzicus — siz^i-kus,  not  si-zr- 

kus. 
Danaides  —  da-na^i-dez,  not 

da-ni^dez. 
Darius- -da-ri^us,  not  da'ri- 

us. 


(52) 


H: a  no  US    OF    STUECJT. 


53 


Deianira  —  de-i-an-i^ra,  not 

de-yan-i^ra. 
Diodorus  —  di-o-d6''rus,  not 

di-6d^o-rus. 
Diomedes — di-o-me^dez,  not 

di-6m^e-dez. 
Dodonaeus — do-do-ne^us,not 

do-do^ne-us. 
Echo-e''ko,  not  6k^ko. 
Endymion — en-dim^i-on,  not 

en-di^mi-on. 
Epirus  —  e-pi''rus,  not  6p^i- 

rus. 
Erato — €r^a-to,  not  e-ra^to. 
Eumenes  —  u^me-nez,    not 

u-nie^nez. 
Euripus — u-ri^pus,  not  u^ri- 

pus. 
Eurydlce   —   u-rid^i-se,  not 

u^ri-dice''  nor  u-ri-di^se. 
Ganymedes  — gan-i-me''dez, 

not  gan-i-raedz^. 
Geryon — •je'^rl-on,  not  je-ri^- 

on. 
Halcyone  —  hal-si^o-ne,  not 

haKsi-one    nor     hal-si-6^- 

ne. 
Hebe— he^be,  not  heb^. 
Hecate— hCk^a-te  or  liSk^at, 

not  he^kate. 
Hecuba  —  hek^u-ba,  not  lie- 

ku^ba. 
Helena  —  heKen-a,  not  he- 

le^na. 
Hermione — hgr-mi^o-ne,  not 

h6r''nii-6ne  nor  h6r-mi-6^- 

ne. 
Herodotus  —  he-r6d^o-tus, 

not  her-o-do^tus. 
Hiero— bi^er-o,  not  bi-e^ro. 
Hippocrene — bip-po-kre^ne, 

not  hip-p5k^re-ne. 


Hippodromus  — hip-p5d^ro- 
mus,  not  bip-po-dro^inns. 

Icarus  —  ik^a-rus,  not  ik-a^- 
rus. 

lolaus — i-o-la^us,  not  i-6''la- 
us 

I  p  h  i  c  I  u  s—  ipb^i-klus,  not  iph- 

rkius. 

Iphigenia — iph-i-je-ni''a,  not 

ipb-i-je''ni-a. 
Irene — i-re^ne,  not  i-reffe^. 
Ithome — i-tbo^me,  not  itb^o- 

me. 
Lachesis — lS,k^e-sis,   not  la- 

ke^sis. 
Laocoon — la-6k^o-on,  not  la- 

o-ko6n^, 
Lethe — le'tbe,  not  letb. 
Leucothoe — lu-k6tb^o-e,  not 

lu-ko^tbo-e      nor      lu-ko- 

tbo^e. 
Libitina — lib-i-ti''na,  not  li- 

bit^i-na. 
Lycaon— li-ka^on,  not  lik^a- 

on. 
Lyceus — li-se^us,  not  lis''e-us. 
Meleager — me-le-a^ger,  not 

me-le-a^jer  nor  me-le^a-jer. 
Meroe  —  m6r'o-e,  not  me- 

ro^e. 
Mitylene  —  mit-I-le^ne,   not 

mit^i-lene. 
Myrmidones  —  myr-mid''o- 

nez,  not  myr''mi-d6nz  nor 

myr-mi-do^nez. 
Naiades   —  na-i^a-dez,   not 

na^a-dez. 
Nemesis — ngm^'e-si?,  not  ne- 

me^sis. 
Nereides  —  ne-re^i-dez,   not 


ner 


^yi-dez 


N  e  r  e  u  s — ne^rus,  not  ne-re''us. 


64 


Entto^s  OF  speech:. 


Nicsea — ni-se''a,  not  nis^e-a. 
Nundina   —  nui/di-na,  not 

nufi-di^na. 
Ocean  us   —  o-se^a-nus,  not 

o-se-a''nus. 
Ocypete — o-sip^e-te,  not  o-si- 

pe^te. 
CEdipus — ed^i-pus,  not  e^di- 

pus  nor  e-di^pus. 
Opigena — o-pij^e-na,  not  op- 

i-Je^na. 
Orion — o-ri''on,  not  oM-on. 
Pactolus   —   pak-to^lus,  not 

pik^to-lus. 
Palaemon  —  pa-le^mon,   not 

paKe-raon. 
Parrhasius  —  par-ra^f*he-us, 

not  par-ras^i-us. 
Pasiphae  —  pa-siph''a-e,  not 

pas-i-pha^e. 
Pegasus — p6g^a-sus,  not  pe- 

gtVsiis. 
Penelope  — pe-ngFo-pe,  not 

p6n^e-]6pe. 
Phlegethon  —  phlej^e-thon, 

not  phl6g^e-thon. 
Pleiades  —  ple^ja-dSz    not 

ple''y3,dz. 


Polyphemus   —  pol-y-phe''- 

nius,  not  po-liph^e-mus. 
Priapus— pri-a''pus,notpri^a- 

pus. 
Proserpine  —  pr6s^er-pine, 

not  pro-?6r^pi-ne. 
Rhode — roMe,  not  rode. 
Sarapis — sa-ra^pis,  not  sar^- 

a-pis. 
Sardanapalus  —  sar-da-na- 

ptVlus,  notsar-dan-ap^a-liis. 
Semiramis   —  se-mir^a-mis, 

not  s6m-i-ra''mis. 
Tereus— te're-us,  notte-re^'us. 
Terpsichore —  terp-sik^o-re, 

not  terp^si-kore. 
Thebae — tlie^be,  not  thebe. 
Theodamas  —  the-6d^a-mas, 

not  the-o-da^mas. 
Theodamus  — the-o-da^raus, 

not  the-6d^a-mus. 
Theodotus   —   the-5d^o-tu3, 

not  the-o-d6''tus. 
Theodorus  —  the-o-do^'rus, 

not  the-6d^o-rus. 
Thessalonica  —  thes-sa-lo- 

ni^ka,  not  tlies-sa-l6n^i-ka. 
Thrace — thra^se,  not  thrase. 


MODERN  BIOGRAPHICAL  NAMES. 


Adam.    As  an  English  name 

is  pronounced  ad^'am  ;    as 

Frencli,   il-dSng^;    as  Ger- 
man, a''dara. 
Annesley  —  anz^le,  not  an^- 

nes-le. 
Arundel    —  ar^un-d6l.     not 

a-run^d6l. 
Bacciochi — biit-clio^kee,  not 

bak-ki-o'kee. 
Beatrice  —  ba-a-tree^ehii  or 

be^a-treess,  not  be-iit^ris 
Beethoven  —  ba^to-ven,  not 

beet^ho-ven. 
Belvedere  — bel-\sa-da^ra,  not 

bSl-ve-dere''. 
Beranger  (Fr.  Beranger)  — 

ba-r5iig-zba'',    not    ber'^an- 

jer. 
Blucher — bloo'ker,  not  blu^- 

clier. 
Boccaccio  —  bo-kaf'cho,  not 

bSk-kas^i-o. 
Boieyn — bSoi^in,  not  bo^lin 

nor  bo-Iin^. 
Boniface— b5n''e-fass  or  Fr. 

bo-ne-fass^,  not  bQn^e-face. 
Boucicault  or  Bourcicault — 

boo-se-ko^   or    boor-se-ko^, 

not  boo^se-kawlt. 
Bozzaris   —   b5t^za-ris,  not 

boz-zar^is,     as      generi4,lly 

called. 


(55) 


Brown-Sequard  (Fr.  Se- 
quard)  —  brown-sa-karr'', 
not  see-kward^. 

Buchanan  —  buk-an^an,  not 
bu-kan^an. 

Bull,  Ole-o^eh  b661,  not 
6K  bo6l. 

Buonaparte  —  boo-o-na- 
piirr^ta,  not  bo^na-part ; 
tlie  hitter  is  the  allowed 
English  pronunciation 
when  spelled  Bona- 
parte. 

Bysshe — bTsh,  not  bish^she. 

Cecil — s6s^il  or  sis^il,  not 
se^sil. 

Cenci— chgn^chee,  not  s6n^- 
see. 

Chevalier  —  sheh-va-le-a^, 
not  shev-a-leer^. 

Crichton — kri^ton,  notkrik^- 
ton. 

D'Aubigne  (Fr.  D'Aubigne) 
— do-ben-ya^,  not  daw- 
been^ 

Daubigny  —  do-ben-ye^,  not 
daw-be^ny. 

Disraeli  —  dlz-ra^el-e,  not 
diz^rel-ee. 

Drouyn  de  Lhuys  —  droo- 
a.ng^  deh  Iwee'. 

Gillot  —  zhe-yo^,  not  jiKlot 
nor  jil-lo^ 


56 


£;3i^0nS    OF   ST^ECH. 


Giovanni  —  jo-van^nee,  not 
je-o-viln^nee. 

Goethe — pronounced  much 
like  giir^teh,  leaving  out 
the  r ;  not  g6tli  nor 
goth. 

Hemans — h6m''anz,  not  he''- 
manz. 

Ingelow — in^je-lo,  not  ing^- 
e-16. 

Ivan — e-van'',  not  i^'van. 

Juarez— jo6-a''r6z  or  Hoo-a^- 
rgth,  not  jaw^rgz. 

Lancelot  —  15ngss-16^,  not 
I5n^se-I5t. 

Lavater — la^vii-ter  or  la-va- 
taii*^,  not  lav^ater. 

IVIacleod  —  mak-lowd'',  not 
mak-le'od. 

Marat — ma-ra'',  not  ma-r3,t''. 

Marion — ma,r^i-on,  not  ma''- 
ri-on. 

Medici — ni6d^e-chee  or  ma^- 
de-chee,  not  m6d^i-see  nor 
me-de^see. 

Minie  (Fr.  Minie)  —  me-ne- 
a^,  not  min^'ne. 

Montague  —  ni6n^ta-gu,  not 
m5n^tag. 

Moultrie — mo5^tre,  notmoK- 
tre. 

Muhlbach  (Ger.  Miihlbach). 
The  u  in  the  first  syllable 
of  this  word  is  very  diffi- 
cult for  those  to  pronounce 
who  are  not  German  or 
French,  and  can  not  be 
well  represented  in  Eng- 
lish ;  but  there  is  no  need 
of  coming  so  far  from  the 


mark  as  is  generally  done, 
especially  in  the  last  sylla- 
ble.    It  is  not  muKbak  nor 


me 


l^bak 


meuKbak      is 


nearer  correct. 
Mundt — m66nt,  not  munt. 
Neumann   —  noi^man,   not 

nu^man. 
Ovid — 6v^id,  not  o^vid  [Ov- 

idiu?]. 
Paganini   —  pa-ga-nee''nee, 

not  paj-a-nn/i. 
Pepin — pgp^Tn  or  pippin,  not 

pe^pin.      French    pronun- 
ciation peh-pilng''. 
Piccolomini —  pek-ko-15m^- 

e-nee,  not  pik-ko-lo-mee^- 

nee. 
Pliny  —  plin^y,   not  pirny 

[Plinius]. 
Ponce  de  Leon  —  p5n^tha 

da   la-on'',    not    ponss    de 

le''on. 
Rachel  —  ra-sh6K,  not  nV- 

chel  as  the  English  name. 

When  a  German  name  it 

is  pronounced  riik^el, 
Richelieu  —  resh^e-166, 

rich^e-loo. 
Rochefort  —  rosh-for^, 

roch^fort. 
Rothschild   —  ros^chlld   or 

rot^shilt,  not  rdth^child. 
Stael — stal,  stawl  or  sta-6K, 

not  stale. 
Strauss     —     strow.ss,      not 

strawss. 
Taliaferro  —  t5Ki-v6r,  not 

tal-i-f^r^ro. 
Thiers — te-air^,  not  theers. 


not 


not 


MODERN  GEOGRAPHICAL  NAMES. 


Abomey — ab-o-ma'',  not  a- 

b5in^ey  nor  a-bo^mey. 
Acapuico— a-kii-pooFko,  not 

ak-a-puKko. 
Adriatic — ad-ri-S,t^ik,  not  a- 

dri-at^Tk. 
Af g  hanistan  —  af-gan-is-tiin'', 

not  af-gan-is^tan. 
Agulhas — a-gooKyiis,  not  a- 

guKhas. 
Aix-la-Chapelle   —   akz-lii- 

sha-pSK,  not  a-la-sliS-pfiK. 
Alsace — al-sass^,  not  aKsas. 
Altai— al-ti^,   not    aKta   nor 

aKti. 
Amherst — am^'erst,  not  am''- 

herst. 
Amoor  —  a-moor',  not  Sm^- 

66r  nor  a^moi-e. 
Antilles — ong-teeK,  not  Sn^- 

teelz. 
Araguay— a-ra-gwi'',  not  ar^- 

a-gwa. 
Aral — ar^al,  not  a^ral. 
Arkansas  —  ar-kan^sas,  not 

ar^kan-saw  nor  ar-kan-zaz. 
Asia — a^she-a,  not  a'^zhe-a. 
Bantam  (Java)  —  ban-tam^, 

not  ban^tam. 
Barbados  or  Barbadoes  — 

bar-ba^'doz,  not  bar^a-doz. 

Barbados,  a  river  of  Bra- 


zil, is  pronounced  bar-ba''- 

dnce. 
Bayou  —  bi^oo  or  bi^o,   not 

ba^u. 
Belfast  —  b6l-fast^,  not  b6K- 

iast. 
Beloochistan  —  b6l-oo-chis- 

tan^,      not       b6l-oo-chis^- 

tan. 
Bingen  —  bing^'en,  not  bin''- 

jen. 
Bombay    —    b5m-ba'',   not 

b6m^ba. 
Bremen  (Germany)— brgm''- 

en  or  bnVmen,    not   bre^- 

men.       Bremen  (U.  S.) — 

bre^men. 
Buena  Vista — bwa^na  vees^- 

ta  or  bo^na  vis^ta,  not  bu.^- 

na  vis^ta. 
Buenos  Ayres — bo^'nos  a^'riz 

or  bo^nos  airz,  not  bu^nos 

arz;    Spanish    pronuncia- 
tion, bwa^noce  i^rfis. 
Cairo  (Italy   and  Egypt) — 

ki^ro,   not  ka^ro.      Cairo 

(U.  S.)— ka^ro. 
Calais— kal-'is  or  ka-la^,  not 

ka-las''. 
Canton  (China)  —  kan-t6n^, 

not  kan^ton.     Canton  (U. 

S,)— kan^ton. 


(57) 


58 


jsnnofts  OjF  s-PEECir. 


Cape  Girardeau  —  jee-rlir- 

do^,  not  jee-iiuMo. 
Caribbean  or  Carribbean — 

kiir-ib-be^an,    not   kij-rlb^- 

be-an. 
Cashmere— kiisli-meer^,  not 

kush^mere. 
Cayenne— ki-6n^  or  ka-yen'', 

not  kii-en''. 
Cheyenne— she-en^,  not  shi- 

en^  nor  clia-&n^. 
Chili — chlKlee,  not  she^lee. 
Christiania —  kris-te-ii^ne-ii, 

not  kris-te-a^ne-a  nor  kris- 

te-an^a. 
Chuquisaca  —  choo-ke-sa^kii, 

not  choo-kwi.s^a-kii. 
Cincinnati  —  sin-sin-nal/ti, 

not  sin-sin-nat^ta. 
Cochin  China  — ko^chinchi^- 

na,  not  kocl/in  chi^na. 
Delhi   (India)  — dSKIee,  not 

dSl  hi.      Delhi  (U.  S.)  — 

deKhi. 
Dubuque — du-bo5k^,  not  du- 

buk^ 
Fezzan  —  fgz-ziin'',  not  i&if- 

zan  nor  ftz-zan^. 
Freiburg   —  fri^b66rg,   not 

fre^burg. 
Genoa  —  j6n^o-a,    not    je- 

no^a. 
Gloucester — glos^ter,  not  as 

spelled.     Gloucestershire 

(glos^ter-shir). 
Greenwich     (England)     — 

givn^idge,  not   as   spelled. 

Greenwich  ( U.S. )— green^- 

ich. 
Havre  de  Grace — hav^er  de 

grass,  not  ha^ver  de  gras''. 

French         pronunciation, 


lui^v'r  deh  griiss  or  a''v'r 

dell  griiss^. 
Iowa — i^o-wa,  not  i-o^vva  nor 

i^o-wa. 
Java    (Island)  —  ja-''va,   not 

jav^a  nor  ja^va.     Java  (U. 

y.) — -ja^va. 
Jeddo  (Japan) — yodMo,  not 

jwl'do.     Jeddo   (U.  S.)— 

jed^do. 
Juniata  —  jo6-ne-al/ta,   not 

jo6-ne-et^a. 
Kankakee  —  kan-kaw^kee, 

not  kang-ka-kee''. 
Ladoga  —  lii^do-gii,  not  la- 

do'ga. 
Lausanne    (Switzerland)    — 

lo-ziin^,  not  law-san^.  Lau- 
sanne   (Pennsylvania)  — 

lavv-san  . 
Leicester  —  Igs^ter,   not   as 

spelled.       Leicestershire 

(ies^ter-shir). 
Leipsic  (Saxony)  —  lip'sik, 

not  leep^sik.     Leipsic  (U. 

S.) — leep^sik. 
Madrid  (Spain)  —  mii-drid'', 

not  mad^rid  ;  Spanish  pro- 
nunciation,     niii-DreeD^ — 

almost  maTH-reeTH''. 

Madrid    (U.  S.)  —  mad^- 

rid. 
Mauch     Chunk    —    mawk 

chunk^,        not         mawch 

shunk^. 
Milan — niiKan,  not  mi^lan. 
Modena  (Italy)  —  mod^cn-a, 

not  rao-de^na.       Modena 

(U.  S.) — mo-de^na. 
Nantes — nantz,  not  nSn^tez; 

French        pronunciation, 

n6ngt. 


E^^o'Hs  or  sTi:i:cir. 


69 


Neufchatel — nush-ii-teK,  not 

no6l^clia,t-el. 
Newfoundland   —  nu^fond- 

lancK,  not  nu-found^land. 
Norwich  (England)— norMj, 

not   nor^wich.       Norwich 

(U.  S.) — nOr^wicli  or  nor^- 

rich. 
Otaheite  —  6-til-liee''te,   not 

o-ta-lieet^. 
Panama   —  pan-a-mii^,  not 

pan^u-maw. 
Persia— per^she-a,  not  per^- 

zlie-a. 
Pesth    —  p£st,    not    pesth; 

Hungarian  pronunc?ation, 

peslit. 
Piqua — pik^wa,  not  pik^wa. 
Pompeii  —  poin-pa^yee,  not 

p6ni'pe-i. 
Popocatapeti— po-po-kii-ta- 

petK,not  po-po-kut-a-pe^tel. 
Poughkeepsb  —  po-kip^'see, 

not  po-keep^see. 
Quebec    —    kwe-b6k^,  not 

kwe^bek. 
Queretaro — kfi-ra-ta^ro,  not 

k\ver-e-tr/ro. 
Sahara — sa-lia''ra  or    sii^ha- 

rii,   not  sa-lia'ra    nor    sa- 

liar^a. 
San  Diego — siLn-de-a^go,  not 

san-di-c^o. 
Sangamon  —  s2,ng^ga-mon, 

not  sang-gam^on. 
San     Joaquin  —  san-Ho-a- 

keen'',  not  san^jo^a-kwTn. 
Shang-Hai  —  shang-hi^,  not 

shang^-ha  nor  shang^-hi. 
Slam— si-am''  or  se-am'',  not 

si^'am. 


Sumatra  —  soo-mil^tra,  not 
s6o-ma^tra  nor  soo-mat^ra. 

Swabia — swiVbi-a,not  swaw^- 
be-a. 

Taliaferro  —  t6Ke-ver,  not 
tal-i-a-ler^ro. 

Toulouse   —  too-looz^,   not 

tOO-loOriS^. 

Truxillo  —  troo-HeeKyo,  not 

trux-iKlo. 
Tyrol — lir^l  or  te-r6K,  not 

ti^rol. 
Ulster  (Germany) — (jSKster, 

not  uKster.      Ulster  (Ire- 
land and  U.  S.)  — ul^ster. 
Valenciennes  —  vii-long-se- 

enn^,  not  va-lCn-se-enz''. 
Valparaiso   (Chili) — viil-pa- 

ri^so,      not      val-pa-riVzo. 

Valparaiso  (U.  S.)  —  val- 

pa-ra^zo. 
Venezuela — ven-ez-wee^laor 

va-n6th-wa^la,  not  ven-ez- 

oo-e^la. 
Vevay — ve-va'',  not  ve^va 
Vosges — vozh.  not  vos^jez, 
Worcester — woos^ter,  not  as 

spelled.     Worcestershire 

(w66s^ter-sliir). 
Wyandot  or  Wyandotte  — 

wi-an-dott^,      not     wi^an- 

dot. 
Wyoming  —  wi-o^ming,  not 

■svi^o-ming. 
Yang-tse-kiang  — yiing-tse- 

ke-iing^,  not   yang^ste-ki''- 

ang. 
Yo  Semite— yo-semVte,  not 

yo^  se-mite. 
Zanzibar  —  zan-ze-bai/,  not 

zan''ze-bar. 


ENGLISH  CHEISTIAN  NAMES. 


Ada— aMa,  not  Sd''a. 
Agnes — ag^nez,  not  ag^ness. 
Alphonso  —  al-phon^so,  not 

al-pli6n^zo. 
Artemas— ar'te-mas,  not  iir- 

te'^raas. 
Augustine  —  aw-giis^tin,  not 

aw^gus-teen. 
Basil — buz^il,  not  ba^sil  nor 

biVil. 
Bernard — be/nard,  not  ber- 

nard^.     Bernard  (French) 

—  beR-naR^ 
Cecily — ses^i-ly,  not  se^si-ly. 
Chloe — klo^e,  not  klo. 
Darius — da-ri^us,  not  da^'ri- 

us. 
Deborah  —  deb^o-rah,    not 

de-bo^rah. 
Eben— 6b^en,  not  e''ben. 
Eleanor — 6Ke-a-nor,  not  61''- 

en-or. 
Esther —  Cs^ter,  not  6s''ther. 
Eva — e^va,  not  6v^a. 
Frances — frSn^sez,  notfran^- 

sess  nor  fran^'sls. 
Giles— jllz,  not  gilz. 
Hosea — ho-ze^a,  not  li6''se-a. 
Ivan— iv^'an,  not  i^van.    Ivan 

(Russian ) — e-viin''. 
Irene — i-re''ne,  not  i-reen''. 


Jaqueline  — jSq^'ue-lin,   not 

jak^a-llne. 
Joan— j6-an^,  not  jo^an. 
Joshua — ^jo.sl/u-a,  not  j6sh''- 

a-wa. 
Leopold — leVp51d,  not  l^p''- 

old.      Leopold   (German) 

— la-o-polt. 
Lionel— li^'o-nel,  not  lI-o''nel. 
Louisa — loo-e^za,  not  loo-i''- 

za. 
Marion — mjir^i-on,  not  ma''- 

ri-on. 
Penelope  —  pe-n6Ko-pe,  not 

pen^el-ope. 
Phebe — plie^be,  not  pheeb. 
Philander— phi-lanMer,  not 

phil-an^der. 
Philemon  —  phi-le^mon,  not 

pliiKe-mon. 
Reginald   —  r6j''i-nald,  not 

reg^i-nald. 
Rosalie  —  r6z''a-le,   not  ro''- 

za-le. 
Rosalind   —  r6z^a-lind,  not 

rd^za-lind. 
Rosamond — r6z^a-mond,  not 

ro^za-mond. 
Rowland— rd^land,  notrow^- 

land. 
Sigismund— slj^is-mund,  not 


(60) 


Bimo^s  OF  st:efcit. 


61 


sig^;s-mund.      Sigismund 


r-.'';^ 


(German)      —       seeG'is- 
mSont. 
Silvester  —  sil-v6s^ter,   not 
sil^v6s-ter. 


Sophia  —  so-phI''a,  not  so'- 

p!ii-a. 
Ursula — iir^su-la,  not  ur-su''- 
la. 
'   Viola — vi^o-la,  not  yi-o^la. 


NAMES  OFKOMANCE,  SOBRIQUETS,  ETC. 


Achitophel  —  a-kitVphel, 
not  u-chit^o-pliel.  A 
nickname  given  to  the 
Earl  of  Shaftesbury  and 
used  by  Dry  den  in  his 
satirical  poem  of  "  Absa- 
lom and  Achitophel." 

Adonais — ad-o-mVis,  not  a- 
do^ni-as  nor  a-don^i-as.  A 
name  given  to  the  poet 
Keats  by  Shelley. 

Adriana— ad-ri-an^a,  not  a- 
dri-:Vna  nor  a-dri-an^a.  A 
character  in  the  "Comedy 
of  Errors." 

^geon— e-je^on,  not  e^js-on. 
A  Syracusan  merchant  in 
the  "  Comedy  of  Errors." 

Emilia  —  e-mlKi-a,  not  e- 
me^li-a.  Wife  of  ^geon 
in  the  "Comedy  of  Er- 
rors." 

Ag  ram  ante  —  a-gra-miin^ta, 
not  ag^ra-mant  unless 
written  Agramant.  King 
of  the  Moors  in  "  Orlando 
Furioso." 

Agricane — ii-gre-ka''na,  not 
Sg^ri-kane.  Written  also 
Agrican  (ag^ri-kan).  King 
of  Tartary  in  "  Orlando 
Innamorato." 

A I    Borak  —  iil  b5r^ak,   not 


al  bo''rak.  An  imaginary 
animal  of  wonderful  ap- 
pearance and  fleetness, 
with  which  it  was  claimed 
that  Mohammed  made  a 
journey  to  the  seventh 
heaven. 

Alcina  -  ill-che^'na,  not  al-se''- 
na.  A  fairy  in  "  Orlando 
Innamorato." 

Alciphron — aKsi-phron,  not 
al-sipl/ron.  The  name  of 
a  work  by  Bishop  Berke- 
ley and  of  a  character  in 
the  same.  Alciphron  is 
also  the  name  of  a  poem 
by  Thomas  Moore  and  the 
hero  of  his  romance,  "  The 
Epicurean." 

Almanzor — al-man'zor,  not 
al^man-zor.  A  character 
in  Dryden's  "  Conquest  of 
Granada." 

A I  Rakim  —  iir  rli-keen/,  not 
ill  ra^kim.  The  dog  in  tlie 
legend  of  the  "  Seven 
Sleepers  of  Ephesus." 

Al  Sirat — as  se-rat^,  not  aK 
si-rat.  An  imaginary 
bridge  between  this  world 
and  the  Mohammedan 
paradise. 

Angelica  —  an-jeFi-ka,  not 


(62) 


i:n'RO^S    OF    STBECH. 


63 


an-jel-e^ka.     A  princess  of 
,  great  beauty  in  ''  Orlando 
Innamorato." 

Angelo  —  an^je-lo,  not  an- 
j6i^o.  A  prominent  char- 
acter in  "  Measure  for 
Measure."  A  goldsmith 
in  the  *'  Comedy  of  Er- 
rors." 

Archimago  —  iir-ki-ma^go, 
not  jir-chi-ma^go  nor  iir- 
chim^a-go.  A  character 
in  Spenser's  "Faery 
Queen" 

Argalia  —  aR-gii-lee^ji,  not 
iir-ga^li-a.  Brother  of. 
Angelica  in  "  Orlando  In- 
namorato." 

Argantes  —  aR-giin^tess,  not 
iir-gru/tez.  An  intidel 
hero  in  "  Jerusalem  De- 
livered." 

Asmodeus — as-mo-de^us,  not 
az-mo^de-us.  An  evil 
spirit. 

Baba,  A!i  —  ii^lee  bii^bli,  not 
ViV\  biVba.  A  character 
in  the  "  Forty  Thieves." 

Baba,  Cassim  —  kiis^'sim 
bii^ba,  not  kas^sim  ba^ba. 
Brother  of  Ali  Baba. 

Bajardo  —  bii-e-aR^do,  not 
ba-jiir^do.  Rinaldo's  steed 
in  "  Orlando  Innamorato." 

Balwhidder  —  baKhwith-er, 
not  bawKwhid-der.  A 
pastor  in  Gait's  "  Annals 
of  the  Parish." 

Ban  quo  —  bankVo,  not 
bang^ko.  A  Scottish  war- 
rior and  a  character  in 
"  Macbeth." 


Bassanio  —  bas-sii^'ni-o,  not 
bas-sa^ni-o.  Husband  of 
Portia  in  "  Merchant  of 
Venice." 

Biron  —  bir''on,  not  bl^ron. 
A  character  in  "  Love's 
Labor's  Lost." 

Boyet-boy-et^,  not  bo^yet. 
A  character  in  "  Love's 
Labor's  Lost." 

Bradamante  —  bril-da-miin''- 
ta,  not  brad^a-mant.  Sis- 
ter to  Rinaldo,  in  "  Or- 
lando Innamorato." 

Brunehilde—  broc/nii-hiKda, 
not  brun-luKdah.  Writ- 
ten also  Brunehild  (broo^- 
neh-hiltj. 

Carrasco,  Sanson — siin-son'' 
kiiR-Ras^ko,  not  san^son 
kar-ras^ko.  A  character 
in  *'Don  Quixote." 

Cedric— sed^rik,  not  se^drik. 
A  character  in  "  Ivanhoe." 

Clarchen  —  kleR^ken,  not 
kliir^chen.  A  female 
character  in  Goethe's  '"''Yi^- 
mont." 

Clavileno  Aligero  —  klii-ve- 
lan^yo  ii-le-Ha^ro,  not 
klav-i-le^no  id-i-je^ro.  A 
celebrated  steed  in  "  Don 
Quixote." 

Consuelo  —  kong-su-a-lo'', 
not  k6n-su-eKo.  The  hero- 
ine of  a  novel  of  tlie  same 
name  by  Georges  Sand. 

Don  Adriano  Armado  — ad- 
re-Ii^no  iir-raaMo,  not  a- 
dri-a^no     iir-mf/do.  A 

character  in  "  Love's  La- 
bor's Lost." 


64 


EHftO^S   OF  S^FFlCir^ 


Don  Cleofas— kleVfas,  not 
kle-6'fas.  Hero  of  "The 
Devil  on  Two  Sticks." 

Don  Juan— jiVan,  notju-Jln''. 

Dulcamara —  doOl-kii-ma^ra, 
not  dul-sa-ma^ra  nor  dul- 
ka-ma^ra.  The  itinerant 
physician  in  "  L'Elisire 
d'Amore." 

Egeus— e-je^us,  not  e^je-us. 
The  Father  of  Hermia 
in  "  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream." 

Eyre,  Jane — er,  not  ire. 

Fata  Morgana  — fa^tii  moR- 
gii^'nii,  not  fa^ta  mor-gan^a. 

Fatima — fat^i-ma,  not  fa-te^- 
ma.  A  female  character 
in  the  story  of  Aladdin, 
or  the  Wonderful  Lamp ; 
also,  one  of  the  wives  of 
Blue  Beard. 

Fidele — ii-de^le,  not  fi-dele^ 
A  name  assumed  by  Imo- 
gen, in  "  Cymbeline." 

Fra  Diavolo — frii  de-ii^vo-lo, 
not  frii  de-ii-vo^'lo. 

Genevra  — je-neV'ra,  not  je- 
ne^vra.  Ginevra  is  pro- 
nounced the  same  as  the 
above. 

Gil  Bias — zhel  blass,  not  jil 
blii  nor  jeel  bliiz. 

Gotham  —  go^tham,  not 
gotl/am.  A  name  applied 
to  New  York  City. 

Haidee- hi^dee,  not  ha^dee. 
One  of  the  heroines  in 
"  Don  Juan." 

lachimo  —  yak^i-mo,  not  i- 
a,k^i-mo.  A  prominent 
character  in  "  Cymbeline." 


fago — e-a''go,  noti-a'go.  One 
of  the  principal  charac- 
ters in  "Othello." 

Jacques  —  zhiik,  not  jak'' 
kwes.  A  character  in  "As 
You  Like  It." 

Klaus,  Peter  —  klowss,  not 
klawz.  The  hero  of  a 
German  tradition  similar 
to  that  of  "  Kip  Van  Win- 
kle " 

Lalla  Rookh  —  lii^'la  r5ok, 
not  laKla  r66k.  The  her- 
oine of  Moore's  poem  of 
the  same  name. 

Laodamia  —  la-Sd-a-m^a, 
not  ia-o-da^mi-a.  The 
Avife  of  Protesilaus  slain 
by  Hector,  and  the  name 
of  a  poem  by  Wordsworth. 

Lara  —  lii^ra,  not  hVra  nor 
lar^a.  The  hero  and 
name  of  Byron's  poem. 

Le  Fevre— leh  iev^r,  not  le 
fe^ver.  A  poor  lieutenant 
in  "  Life  and  Opinions  of 
Tristram  Shandy." 

Leonato — le-o-na^to,  not  le- 
o-na^to.  Governor  of  Mes- 
sina in  "  Much  Ado  About 
Nothing." 

Mahu — ma-hoo''  or  mii^hoo, 
not  ma^hu.  A  fiend 
spoken  of  in  "King  Lear." 

Maid  of  Orleans— or^le-anz, 
not     6r-lenz^.  Another 

name  of  Joan  of  Arc. 

Meister,  Wilhelm— viKhelm 
mis^ter,  not  wiriielm 
mes^ter.  The  hero  of  a 
novel  by  Goethe. 

Mohicans,    Last    of  the  — 


js  ft  nous  OF  steech:. 


65 


mo-he'kans,  not  mo-hish''- 
ans  nor  mo'he-kans. 

Montague  —  mon^ta-gu,  not 
mon-tag^.  A  noble  family 
in  "Romeo  and  Juliet." 

Moreno,  Don  Antonio — iin- 
t5^ne-o  rao-ra^no,  not  an- 
to^ne-o  mo-re^no,  A  gen- 
tleman in  "  Don  Quixote." 

Munchausen  —  mun-chaw^- 
sen,  not  mun-kaw^sen. 
German,  Miinclihausen 
(munK-how''zen). 

Oberon  —  6b^er-on,  not  6^- 
ber-on.  King  of  the  fai- 
ries. Takes  an  important 
part  in  "  Midsummer 
Kight's  Dream." 

Ossian— osh^an,  notaw^si-an. 

Parizade  —  pii-re-za^da,  not 
par^i-zade^.  A  princess  in 
*'  Arabian  Nights'  Enter- 
tainments." 

Parolles  — pa-roKles,  not  pa- 
rolz''.  A  follower  of  Ber- 
tram in  "  All's  Well  That 
Ends  Well."  ^ 

Perdita — per^di-ta,  not  per- 
di^ta  nor  per-de^ta.  A 
princess  in  "  Winter's 
Tale." 

Petruchio  —  pe-troo^chl-o. 
not  pe-troo^ki-o.  A  prin- 
cipal character  in  "  Tam- 
ing of  the  Shrew." 

Pisanio — pl-za^'ni-o,  not  pi- 
sa'^ni-o.  A  character  in 
"  Cymbeline." 

Posthumus  —  post'hu-miis, 
not    post-hu^mils.       Imo- 
gen's  husband    in  "Cym- 
beline." 
5 


Ppospero  —  pr53''pe-ro,  not 
pros-pe'ro.  An  important 
character  in  the  "  Tem- 
pest." 

Rosalind  —  r6z^a-lind,  not 
roz^a-lind.  The  lady  loved 
by  Orlando  in  "  As  You 
Like  It." 

Rosaline — rQz^a-lJn  or  r6z''a- 
lin,  not  roz^a-leen.  A  lady 
in  "Love's  Labor's  Lost ;  " 
also,  the  name  of  a  lady 
loved  ^by  Eomeo  before 
Juliet. 

Rosamond,  Fair  —  r6z^a- 
mond,  not  ro^za-mond. 

Rozinante — r5z-i-nan^te,  not 
ro-zi-nan^te.  Don  Quix- 
ote's famous  horse. 

Ruggiero  —  rood-ja^ro,  not 
rug-gi-6r''o  or  ruj-ji-e^ro. 
A  knight  in  "  Orlando 
Furioso." 

Sakhrat — saK-rii^,  not  sak^- 
rat.  A  sacred  stone  of 
great  powers,  in  Moham- 
medan mythology." 

Stephano — stef^a-no,  not  ste- 
fa^no,  A  drunken  butler 
in  "  Tempest ;  "  also  a  ser- 
vant of  Portia  in  "  Mer- 
chant of  Venice." 

Titania  —  ti-ta^ni-a,  not  ti- 
tan'i-a.  The  wife  of  Ob- 
eron, king  of  the  fai- 
ries. 

Tybalt— tib^alt,  not  tl^balt. 
One  of  the  Capulets  in 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet" 

Ulrica  —  ul-ri^ka,  not  uKri- 
ka.  An  old  sibyl  in 
"  Ivanhoe." 


66 


JEHnOHS   OF  STBUCH. 


Ursula  —  ur''su-la,  not  iir- 
soo^la.  An  attendant  in 
"  Much  Ado  About  Noth- 
ing." 


Viola  —  vi^o-la,  not  vi-o^'la. 
The  disguised  page  of 
Duke  Orsino  in  "  Twelfth 
Night." 


OKTHOEPICAL  ERRORS  OF  THE  PRO- 
FESSIONS. 


Although  errors  of  speech  are  at  all  times  to  be 
deprecated,  and  are  generally  criticised  without  much 
leniency,  it  must  be  admitted  that  unless  they  are 
very  gross,  reasonable  excuses  are  to  be  taken  for 
those  who  have  never  made  their  language  a  subject 
of  close  study,  and  whose  only  use  of  words  is  en- 
tirely impromptu  in  the  business  affairs  of  life,  in 
the  home  circle,  or  in  the  social  gathering. 

Though  a  person  s  de^^ceot  from  Belgravia  or  Bil- 
lingsgate is  in  a  great  measure  revealed  by  the  pro- 
priety of  his  discourse,  yet  this  refers  principally  to 
those  words  that  are  employed  by  the  masses  in  the 
every- day  conversations  of  life,  rather  than  to  tech- 
nicalities and  words  related  to  particular  professions, 
the  use  of  which  is  generally  confined  to  the  spe- 
cially instructed.  But  when  a  man  stands  forth  as  an 
orator,  a  teacher,  a  minister,  or  a  professor  of  some 
college,  it  is  certainly  not  unreasonable  for  those 
that  sit  under  his  instruction,  to  expect  and  demand 
that  his  speech  should  be  almost  free  from  errors. 

One  occupying  such  a  position  may  well  be  ex- 

(67) 


68  JESJiOfiS   OF  STEECIT. 

cused  for  occasional  embarrassment,  poor  voice,  un- 
pleasant address,  hesitation  of  delivery,  and  various 
failings  and  peculiarities  that  can  not  be  overcome, 
but  little  or  no  allowance  can  be  made  for  constantly 
repeated  errors. 

Probably  there  has  never  been  a  public  speaker 
so  perfect  in  diction,  that  he  has  not  in  moments  of 
embarrassment,  or  when  much  absorbed  in  his  sub- 
ject, been  guilty  of  grammatical  inaccuracies  or  mis- 
takes of  pronunciation  ;  and  doubtless  he  is  as  often 
aware  of  them  as  his  listeners  are,  as  soon  as  they 
drop  from  his  lips,  but  it  would  be  foolish  to  call  at- 
tention to  them  by  going  back  to  correct  them.  But 
when  these  offenses  are  so  glaring  and  so  frequently 
repeated  that  it  is  evident  the  speaker  knows  no  bet- 
ter, it  is  no  wonder  that  the  educated  hearer  often 
thinks  that  the  teacher  had  better  leave  his  position 
and  submit  to  being  taught. 

What  allowance  can  an  intelligent  congregation 
make  for  their  minister  who  has  nothing  else  to  do 
but  prepare  his  sermons,  if,  besides  a  multitude  of 
common  English  mistakes,  he  pronounces  more  than 
half  of  his  scriptural  names  in  a  manner  that  is  not 
sanctioned  by  any  authority  ? 

When  the  orotund  medical  professor  stands  up  to 
address  his  students,  or  to  engage  in  the  discussions 
of  a  convention,  and  rolls  out  technicality  after  teeh- 
Dicality  pronounced  in  a  manner  that  would  be  dis- 
owned by  the  original  Latin  or  Greek,  and  is  totally 


xj^no^s  OF  stf:eci£.  69 

at  variance  with  established  usage,  who  would  not 
ask  for  a  little  less  elegance  and  a  little  more  educa- 
tion? If  it  required  a  great  amount  of  labor  outside 
of  the  usual  course  of  study  for  professional  men  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  pronunciation  of  words 
peculiar  to  the  professions,  the  subject  might  be 
treated  with  more  tolerance  ;  but  as  the  definitions 
and  the  orthoepy  might  be  so  readily  learned  together 
during  those  years  of  daily  reference  to  books  that 
are  required  before  one  should  be  considered  compe- 
tent to  stand  as  a  guide  to  others,  it  certainly  seems 
that  they  do  not  properly  appreciate  the  dignity  of 
their  position  by  thus  laying  themselves  open  to  pub- 
lic criticism. 

Many  a  student,  in  order  to  become  instructed  in 
certain  branches,  has  been  compelled  to  reluctantly 
sit  for  months  or  years  at  the  feet  of  those  that  he 
felt  were  far  inferior  to  him  in  common  school  edu- 
cation, hearing  hourly  such  violations  of  orthoepy 
and  syntax  as  would  be  a  discredit  to  school  chil- 
dren. And,  doubtless,  many  such  students  have  had 
such  a  charity  for  their  teachers  that  they  have 
wished  to  direct  their  attention  to  their  faults,  but 
have  been  restrained  on  account  of  the  fear  of  en- 
mity, expulsion,  or  of  lessening  the  chances  for  pass- 
ing the  final  examination. 

The  bare  thought  of  being  so  criticised  should  be 
so  galling  to  any  one  bearing  the  dignified  title  of 
"professor,"  that  he  ought  to  be  stimulated  to  en- 


70  Ennofts  of  stf^ecs, 

deavor  to  make  himself  an  authority  concerning  the 
proprieties  of  speech. 

The  study  ol'  orthoepy  was  held  in  such  high  es- 
teem by  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  their  delicate  ears 
were  so  oflfended  by  any  violation  of  its  rules,  that 
if  an  orator  mispronounced  a  single  word,  the  entire 
audience  immediately  hissed  him. 

During  the  present  state  of  pronunciation  it  would 
indeed  be  embarrassing  to  the  public  speaker,  if  such 
a  custom  existed  in  this  country.  Let  us  imagine, 
for  instance,  our  friend  Professor  Abdominous  Gynae- 
cophonus,  with  his  face  ebullient  with  smiles  of 
self-conceit,  arising  to  address  such  an  audience. 
"Gentlemen:  I  have  listened  patiently  to  this  op'- 
po-nent  {hisses)  of  al'lo-path-y  (^hisses)  and  now  arise 
to  make  a  few  remarks  and  in'quir-ies  (hisses).  In 
answer  to  his  objections  against  hy-os-cy-a'mus 
(^hisses)  as  an  anodyne  and  so'por-if-ic,  (hisses)  I 
\vould  say  that  in  cases  of  cough  and  sleeplessness, 
I  have  long  used  hyoscyamia  combined  in  tro'chez 
(hisses)  without  any  of  those  effects  that  the  pat'ron 
(hisses)  of  ho'me-o-path-y  (hisses)  mentions.  And 
having  made  almost  a  specialty  of  the  treatment  of 
fa^'i-al  (hisses)  neuralgia  or  tic-dul-o-roo'  "  (hisses) — 
and  it  would  certainly  be  time  for  him  to  dolorously 
sit    down,    although  he  might  raise  the  question— 

"  What's  in  a  name  ?  that  which  we  call  a  rose, 
By  any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet," 


EH-Ro^s  or  si^AECH,  71 

and  argue  therefrom  that  the  pronunciation  of  a  word 
should  make  no  difference  so  long:  as  its  meaning:  was 
understood.  Amongst  professional  men,  it  has  been 
observed  that  ph^^sicians  and  dentists  are  by  far  more 
prone  than  others  to  orthoepical  errors.  Attention 
is  requested  to  a  few  of  the  more  common  of  these 
in  addition  to  those  found  in  the  preceding  vocabu- 
lary connected  with  words  that  are  alike  used  by  the 
professionai  and  the  unprofessional,  such  as  :  abdo- 
men, acclimated^  albumen,  animalcula,  arable,  citrate^ 
embryo,  excrescence,  fetid,  fetor,  forceps,  homeopathy, 
hydropathy,  jugular,  jujube,  nasal, pharmacopoeia,  pu- 
rulent, spasmodic,  sulphurous,  tragacanth,  etc.  The 
authorities  appealed  to  are  Dunglison,  Thomas,  AYeb- 
ster  and  Worcester.  Notwithstanding  the  superior 
merit  of  Dunglison 's  Medical  Dictionary,  as  far  as  the 
comprehensiveness  and  reliability  of  its  definitions 
are  concerned,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  almost  useless 
as  an  orthoepical  guide.  The  principal  accent  is  in 
many  cases  marked,  but  the  pronunciation  of  pre- 
ceding and  succeeding  syllables  can  not  be  deter- 
mined, and  there  is  no  attempt  at  syllabication. 

Dr.  Thomas'  dictionary,  though  less  comprehen- 
sive, is  equally  reliable  in  its  definitions,  and  is  ex- 
cellent authority  in  regard  to  orthoepy ;  though  it 
is  to  be  regretted  that  in  some  words  important  syl- 
lables are  not  sufficiently  marked.  For  instance, 
take  the  words  as-bes'tos  and  bis'muth;  how  can  it 
be    determined   whether   th§    first   should   be    pro- 


72  ^^soss  OT  s^i::Ecsr, 

nounced  as-bes'toss  or  az-bes'toz,  or  the  latter  "biz'- 
mutli  or  biss'muth  ?  Webster  and  Worcester  are 
undoubtedly  good  autborities  for  the  proDunclation 
of  the  medical  words  they  give.  In  the  following 
vocabulary  all  of  the  authorities  that  mention  the 
words  may  be  considered  as  agreeing,  unless  notice 
is  made  of  their  disagreement. 


MEDICAL  AND  DENTAL  WOKDS. 


[In  Latin  and  Latinized  Greek  words,  the  English  sounds  of  the  row- 
els are  given  as  those  used  by  the  majority  of  profosslonal  men.  If  any 
one,  however,  prefers  to  adopt  the  continental  raelhud,  sounding  a  as  in 
father,  y  and  i  as  e  in  veto,  etc.,  and  consistently  applies  it  to  all  such 
words,  no  one,  of  course,  has  a  right  to  object.] 


Adipose — S,d''i-p5se,  not  ad''- 
i-p6ze. 

Ala — a^la,  not  aKa.  Alse, 
plural. 

Alis  — a^llS  not  aKis.  This 
as  a  termination  of  many 

,  word.g,  such  as  abdomina- 
lis,  digitalis,  frontalis, 
lachrymalis,  transversa- 
lis,  etc.,  is  often  errone- 
ously pronounced  aKis. 

Alumen  —  al-u^men,  not  aK- 
u-men. 

Alveolus  —  al-ve''o-lu3,  not 
al-ve-6^1us.  Plural,  alve- 
oli (al-ve^o-li).  Alveolar 
— (al-ve^o-lar).  Alveolus 
is  the  name  given  to  the 
cavity  in  the  jaw  that  is 
seen  upon  the  removal  of 
the  root  of  a  tooth,  and  it 
possesses  no  more  tangibil- 
ity than  a  pinch  of  air  ; 
almost  daily,  however,  we 
hear  dentists  speak  of  ex- 
tracting a  tooth  with  a  piece 
of  the   alveolus   attached. 


What  a  curiosity  for  preser- 
vation in  a  museum  is  a 
tooth  with  a  piece  of  a  little 
hole  fastened  to  the  root  I 
What  is  meant  is  a  piece 
of  the  alveolar  process,  or 
portion  of  bone  around 
the  alveolus. 

Anaemic  —  a-n6m^ik,  not  a- 
ne^mik.  Dunglison  gives 
the  latter. 

Andral — 6ng-draK,  not  an''- 
dral. 

Aphthae — af^the,  not  ap'the. 

Aqua — a^kwa,  not  ak^wa. 

Arcus  Senilis — se-ni^lis,  not 
s6n'i-lis. 

Areolar  —  a-re^'o-lar,  not  a- 
re-o^lar. 

Aris — a''ris,  not  ar^is  in  the 
termination  of  angularis, 
medullaris,  palmaris,  or- 
bicularis, pulmonaris,  etc. 

Asa  rum  —  as^a-rum,  not  a- 
sa^rum. 

Asbestos  —  as-b6s''t6ss,  not 
az-bgs^'toz. 


(73) 


74 


Sn^OnS   OF  S^EECJg. 


Attollens  —  at-t5Klenz,  not 

ac-to'ien?. 
Azygos  -az^y-gos,  not  a-zy''- 

gos. 
Bagga  — bag^geh,  not  ba,g. 
Bimana  —  bi-imVna,  not  bi- 

ma^ni-a. 
Bismuth     —    blz^muth,  not 

bi.ss^muth. 
Bitumen  —  bt-tu^-men,  not 

l)it''u-men 
Cadaver   —   ka-da^ver,  not 

ka-dav^er. 
Caries — ka^ri-ez,  not  ka^rez 

nor  kar^rez. 
Carminative   —  kar-min''a- 

tive,  not  kar'mi-na-tive. 
Caryophillus — kar-I-o-phiK- 

liis,  not  kilr-i-6ph''il-las. 
Cerebral  —  s6r^e-bral,   not 

ser-e'bral. 
Cerebric   —  s6r''e-bric,  not 

ser-e^bric. 
Cerebrum — sSr^e-brnm,  not 

ser-e^brum.  Dunglison 

gives  both. 
Cerumen  —  se-ru^men,  not 

ser^ii-men. 
Cheyne — chan  or  cheen,  not 

sbane. 
Choledochus— ko-l6d^o-kus, 

not   k61-e-do^kus  nor  ko- 

lld^a-kus. 
Cicatrix  —  si-ka^trix,    not 

sik^a-trix    nor    si-kat^rix. 

Plural,   cicatrices   (sik^a- 

trr.sez),  not  si-kat^ri-sez. 
Cimicifuga  —  siui-i-sif^u-ga, 

not  sim-i-si-lu^ga  nor  sim- 

is^i-lu^ga. 
Cochlea — k6k^le-a,  not  kok^- 

le-a. 


Conein  — ko-ne^in,  not  ko''- 

ne-in. 
Conium — ko-ni^um,  not  ko^- 

ni-uiu. 
Cranium  —   kriVni-um,  not 

krui/i-um. 
Cynanche   —  sl-nin^ke,  not 

si-nan'che. 
Diastase— dras-tase,  not  dl- 

as^taze. 
Diastole  —  di-as^to-le,   not 

dl^as-tole. 
Diploe  —  dip^lo-e,  not  dip- 

16'e. 
Dulcamara  —  dnl-ka-ma^ra, 

not   dul-sa-mcVra,      Web- 
ster    gives     dul-kain'a-ra 

also. 
Duodenum  —  du-o-de'num, 

not  du-5d''e-num. 
Dyspncea  —  disp-ne^a,   not 

dis-ne'a. 
Emesis — 6m''e-sis,  not  em-e''- 

sis. 
Epiploon  — e-pip^lo-on,  not 

ep-ip-io^'on. 
Facial — fa^shal,  not  fUsl/i-al. 
Foramen  —  fo-ra^men,  not 

fo-r3,iu^en. 
Fungi  —  fnn^ji,   not  fun^gi. 

Plural  of  fungus. 
Galbanum— gaKba-num,  not 

gal-ba^num. 
Gingiva— jin-ji^va,  not  jin'- 

ji-va. 
Glenoid    —    gle^'noid,    not 

glgu^oid. 
Glut2eus — glu^'tse-us,  accord- 
ing to  Webster.     The  rest 

give  glu-tae^us. 
Helleborus  —  hel-l6b^o-ru3, 

not  hel-le-b5''rus. 


EiiftO^S    OF   ST^EECH^. 


75 


Hyoscyamus   —  hi-o?-si^a- 

mus,  not  hi-os-sy-ain^us 
nor  hi-os-sy-a''mus.  Hv- 
oscyamine  (hi-os-si  a- 
min). 
Impetigo  —  im-pe-trgo,  not 
iin-pei^i-go. 

Incisive  —  iu-si^siv,  not  in- 
sis^ive. 

Iodoform —i-5d^o-form,  not 
i-o^do-foriii.  Dunglison 
gives  i^o-do-form. 

Itis.  According  to  Webster 
and  Worcester  this  ter- 
mination is  pronounced 
Ttis  in  bronchitis,  pleuri- 
tis,  gastritis,  etc.  Tliomas 
and  Dunglison  do  not  spec- 
ify, but  tlie  inference  is 
that  they  intend  the  same. 
It  is,  however,  so  general- 
ly pronounced  e^tis,  that 
many  would  object  to  the 
attention  attracted  by  call- 
ing it  i^tis. 

Jejunum  —  je-ju^num,  not 
j6j^u-nura. 

Juniperus— ju-nip^e-rus,  not 
ju^ni-per-us  nor  ju-ni-pe^- 
rus. 

Laudanum  —  law''da-num, 
not  I6d^a-nura. 

Lentigo — len-ti^go,  not  l6n^- 
ti-go. 

Lepra  —  Igp^ra,  not  le^pra. 
Dunglison  gives  the  lat- 
ter. 

Leuwenhoek  —  165^en-h66k 
or  lul/wen-h66k  (u  as  in 
fur),  not  loc'/wen-hoke. 

Levator  —  le-va^tor,  not  le- 
v5,t^or. 


Liquor  (Latin) — ll^kwor,  not 

lik^ur  as  in  English. 
Magendie  —  ma-zli6ng-de^, 

not  ma-jen^de. 
Mah'c  —  ma^lic,  not  maKic. 

Tliomas  gives  the  latter. 
Matrix — ma^trix,  not   mat^- 

rix. 
Mistura — mis-tu^ra,  not  mis''- 

tu-ra. 
Molecule  —  m6Ke-kiile,  not 

mo^le-kiile. 
Moliities — mol-Iish^i-ez,  not 

m(3l^lI-Lez. 
Molybdenum  —  m61-ib-de''- 

num,  not  mo-lib^de-num. 
Nasmyth   —  na^smith,    not 

naz'mith. 
Nicolai— nee^ko-li,  not  nik^- 

o-la. 
Nucleolus — nu-kle^o-lus,  not 

nukle-o^lus. 
Oris — o^ris,  not  6r^is. 
Ovale  — o-va^le,  not  o-vaKe. 
PanizzI  —  pii-nit^see  or  pa- 

net^see,  not  pan-iz^zy. 
Pepys— peps,  not  pe^pis  nor 

pgp^is. 
Pes   Anserinus— pez  an-ser- 

i^nus,  not  p6z  an-s6r^i-nus. 

I  once  heard  a    professor 

describing  the  facial  nerve 

to  his  class,  and  he  dwelt 

upon  this  plexus  for  some 

time,  calling  it  the  "  Pons 

Asinorum." 
Podagra  —  p6d^a-gra,    not 

po-da^gra.  Worcester  gives 

po-dag^ra  also. 
Podophyllum — p6d-o-phyK- 

lum,       not       po-d6ph''yl- 

lum. 


76 


EnftOltS   OF  STJEECS. 


Process— pr5s''ess,  not  pro''- 

sess. 
Prostate    —    pros^'tate,   not 

pr5-;^trrite. 
Purkinje  —  pS5R^kin-yeh  or 

p56r^kin,     not     pur-kin'- 

Pylorus  —  pi-lo'rus,  not  pl- 

lor^as, 
Pyrethrum   —  pirVthrum, 

not  pi-re^thriim. 
Quadrumana —  quad-ru^raa- 

na,       not        quad-ru-ma^ 

nia. 
Rubeola — ru-be''o-la,  not  ru- 

be-o^la. 
Sacrum— 8a''krum,  not  s3,k^- 

rum. 
Sagittal  —  sSj^It-tal,  not  sa- 

jit^tal.      Dunglison    gives 

the  latter. 
Sanies  — sa^ni-ez,  not  sa''nez 

nor  siln^ez. 
Scabies — sca''bl-ez,  not  scab'- 

ez  nor  sca^bez. 
Seidlitz  —  sid^Jttz,  not  s6d^- 

lltz,  unless  spelled  Sedlitz. 
Sinapis — si-na^pis,  not  sin''a- 

pis. 


Squamous  —  skwa^'mus,  not 

akwaw^mus. 
Systole  —  sls^to-le,  not  sis^- 

tolt. 
Tinctura  —  tinc-tu^ra,    not 

tinct^ii-ra. 
Titanium  —  ti-ta''ni-um,  not 

ti-tan^'i-um. 
Trachea  —  tra-ke^a  or  tra^- 

ke-a,  not  track^e-a. 
Tremor  — tre^mor,  not  trgm''- 

or.      Webster    allows   the 

latter  also. 
Trismus  —  triss^'mus,     not 

triz^mus. 
Umbilicus   —  um-bi-ll^kus, 

according     to    Worcester, 

Thomas    and    Dunglison. 

Webster    gives     um-biKi- 

kus. 
Variola— va-rl^o-la,  not  va- 

ri-o'la. 
Veratrum  —  ve-ra^trum,  not 

ve-r3,t^rum. 
Vertebral —  vSr^te-bral,  not 

ver-le^bral. 
Virchow  —  fir^ko,  not  viV- 

chow  nor  viVkow. 
Zlnci — zin^si,  not  zink^'i. 


SENTENCES  FOR  PRACTICE. 


The  following  extract  is  from  the  letter  of  a  friend,  to 
whom  were  sent  some  of  the  advance  pages  of  this  work : 
*'  I  am  absolutely  filled  with  astonishment  to  see  how  many 
simple  words  I  have  been  mispronouncing  all  my  life,  and 
would  have  kept  on  mispronouncing  to  the  end  of  my  days 
if  my  thoughts  had  not  been  directed  to  them.  If  I  were  in 
your  place  I  would  end  the  book  with  a  story  in  which  all 
the  words  would  be  used  in  the  course  of  the  narrative.  I 
can  imagine  no  amusement  more  instructive  or  interesting 
than  for  a  social  party  to  read  in  turns,  under  some  penalty 
for  each  mistake." 

I  had  myself  conceived  the  idea  of  presenting  the  words 
untrammeled  with  explanation  of  the  orthoepy,  or  marks  of 
accent ;  but  the  form  was  not  decided  upon. 

The  effort  to  compose  a  narrative  was  abandoned  after  a 
fair  trial;  for  to  have  a  plot  and  also  bring  the  words  in  nat- 
ural position  would  require  a  large  volume  ;  otherwise,  it 
made  senseless  jumble.  In  the  trial  sentences  given  the  ob- 
jects are  gained  in  small  space.  Those  objects  are  to  allow 
readers  to  exercise  the  memory  and  test  their  friends  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  to  use  the  words  syntactically.  It  is  hoped 
that  the  reader  will  pardon  any  absurdities  of  context ;  as 
they  can  not  be  avoided  where  one  is  compelled  to  use  so 
many  selected  words,  and  is  obliged  to  force  them  into  a 
small  compass. 

(77) 


MELANGE. 


The  invalid  came  from  Bremen  to  America  and 
hoped  to  be  soon  acclimated,  but  was  stricken  down 
with  a  disease  that  was  not  amenable  to  treatment, 
although  he  had  many  physicians  :  allopathlsts^  hy- 
dropathists  and  homeopafhtsfs.  He  said  that  the  aim 
of  allopathy  was  to  poison  him ;  of  liydropathy  to 
drown  him ;  and  of  homeopathy  to  let  him  die  un- 
aided. 

One  of  the  combatants  struck  his  opponent  in  the 
abdomen  with  a  club,  cut  off  an  alder  tree  ;  he  was 
carried  under  the  shade  of  an  ailantus  and  immedi- 
ately expired. 

Sophia  found  the  egg  under  a,  piony  near  the  shu- 
mac  tree;  but  she  broke  it  in  carrying,  and  spilled 
the  albumen  all  over  her  alpaca  dress. 

The  dose  for  an  adult  is  a  dessert -spoonfuh 

It  was  a  plain  supper — nothing  but  aerated  bread, 
Bologna  sausage  and  radishes. 

He  told  his  demonstrative  disputant  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  get  into  an  altercation,  but  it  only  appeared 
to  arouse  his  combativeness  still  more. 

(78) 


JUltJtOftS    OF    STEECBT.  79 

Why  do  you  accent  the  antepenult  of  es})ionagef 
He  illustrated  his  proposition  by  cutting  oflF  the 
apex  of  the  figure,  and  then  exhibited  his  apparatus 
for  the  production  of  statical  electricity. 

Two-thirds  gum-arahic  and  one-third  gum-traga- 
canth  make  a  good  mucilage. 

The  archbishop  dreamed  that  an  archangel  came  to 
him  and  told  him  to  have  his  architect  send  to  an  isl- 
and in  the  Grecian  Archipelago  for  white  marble  for 
the  pilasters. 

Search  the  archives  of  history  and  you  will  not 
find  another  such  prodigy  as  Admirable  Crichton, 

When,  after  traversing  the  ocean,  you  find  yourself 
in  the  arid  desert  of  Sahara,  where  there  is  no  aro- 
ma of  sweet  flowers,  or  anything  at  all  to  regale 
your  exhausted  energies  ;  where  there  is  no  herb  nor 
herbaceous  plant  near  you ;  where  you  are  almost 
famished  for  want  of  some  potable  fluid ;  where  you 
are  in  constant  fear  of  being  harassed  by  truculent 
nomads — then  will  you  realize  that  there  are  no  joys 
comparable  to  those  that  exist  around  the  hearth' 
stone  of  your  humble  home. 

When  the  contents  of  the  museum  were  sold  by 
auction,  the  antiquary  bought  a  roll  o? papyrus  filled 
with  hieroglyphics^  a  kind  of  bellows  used  by  the  an- 
cients for  starting  their  fires,  and  a  fine  collection  of 
trilobites. 


80  EH^OHS   OF  S^EECS^^ 

The  attempt  at  a  reconnoisance  in  force  had  been 
unsuccessful ;  immediately  after  reveille^  the  com- 
mander of  the  fortress  put  it  to  vote  amongst  his  of- 
ficers, whether  or  not  they  should  surrender.  The 
ai/es  carried  it,  although  some  veliementJy  opposed  on 
account  of  the  excellent  morale  of  the  garrison. 

The  heroine  of  the  melodrama  sent  to  her  betrothed 
Seignior  an  exquisite  louquef,  composed  of  catalpa 
flowers,  dahlias^  mai'igold  and  thyme,  and  prayed  his 
forgiveness  for  not  allowing  him  the  promised  tete-d- 
tete  at  the  trysling  place  ;  she  had  been  suffering  with 
the  tic-douloureux,  she  said.  He  generously  forgave 
her  and  sent  her  a  sonnet,  in  which  he  said  that  her 
voice  was  sweeter  than  that  of  Piccolomini,  or  any 
other  cantatrice ;  that  no  houri  could  be  more  beau- 
tiful than  she  ;  he  called  her  a  fair  Jlorist,  and  after 
extolling  her  naivete,  roseate  cheeks  and  nymphean 
graces,  he  swore  eternal  homage  and  that  he  would 
love  her  forever  and  for  aye. 

The  judge  hade  the  desperado  cease  his  badinage 
and  answer  his  inquiries,  and  threatened  that  if  he 
did  not,  he  would  punish  him  for  his  contumacy. 

The  vicar  was  one  of  the  notable  men  of  his  day; 
his  wife  was  a  pattern  of  industry,  a  notable  house- 
keeper. While  the  birds  were  chirping  their  matin 
song,  she  might  be  seen  with  her  besom  in  her  hand. 

Is  this  a  bona  fide  transaction,  or  is  it  a  Machia- 


JSHliOn.S    OF    S'PEFCIT.  81 

velian  attempt    to    inveigle    the  prelate  into  an  im- 
broglio  9 

A  hooth  was  erected  at  the  fair  where  the  pretty 
Misses  Agnes  and  Rosalind  with  much  complaisance 
dispensed  gratis  to  the  visitors,  soda-water  flavored 
with  orgeat  or  sarsaparilla. 

General  Silvester  and  his  prof^g^,  Reginald,  met 
with  a  casualty  that  nearly  cost  them  their  lives.  The 
horses  attached  to  their  Brougham  became  frightened 
at  a  yacht  and  made  a  tremendous  leap  over  a  high 
embankment  into  a  creeh. 

At  the  zoological  garden  was  found  nearly  every 
animal  extant^  from  a  mouse  to  a  camelopard. 

The  rendezvous  of  the  topographical  surveyors  was 
at  the  camp  of  some  hunters  on  a  knoll  near  the 
banks  of  a  canon. 

The  monk  concealed  his  features  with  his  capoch 
and  would  have  been  ir recognizable  if  his  discourse 
had  not  betrayed  him. 

The  etagere  stands  cater -cornered  in  a  recess  and 
contains  many  beautiful  ornaments  that  his  predeces- 
sor gathered  within  the  last  decade  of  years;  amongst 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  heads  of  Beethoven, 
B^ranger,  Goethe,  Percy  Bysshe  Shelley,  and  many 
other  celebrities,  cut  in  onyx. 
6 


82  EftHO'RS    Oj^  Sf^EECff. 

The  Caucasian  races  obtained  their  name  on  ac- 
count of  originating  near  Mount  Caucasus. 

The  mischievous  children  got  cayenne  all  over  their 
chaps,  by  which  they  were  sufficiently  punished 
without  any  further  chastening. 

The  chivalric  Don  Quixote,  having  become  a 
monomaniac  on  the  subject  of  chivalry,  bestrode  his 
Rosinante,  and,  attended  by  his  squire,  started  out  to 
perform  chivalrous  deeds. 

Lord  C.  has  been  absent  since  February,  1870  ;  it 
is  said  that  he  has  been  traveling  incognito,  but  it  is 
certain  that  in  Italy  he  has  retained  his  cognomen. 
He  is  now  at  Modena  awaiting  the  recovery  of  his 
Cicerone,  when  he  intends  to  visit  Genoa  and  Milan, 

The  obesity  of  the  /?o?*zc?- faced  prebendary  is  ob- 
served to  increase  with  his  prebend. 

I  have  heard  much  of  the  gamins  of  Gotham,  but 
I  never  realized  what  the  ^a/^ot<;s-deserving  rascals 
were  till  I  settled  in  New  York  City.  I  opened  busi- 
ness as  3i  pharmaceutist  on  a  corner  that  was  a  favor- 
ite haunt  of  theirs.  Sul-1i  a  crowd  of  tatterdemal- 
ions as  stood  in  front  of  my  show-window  the  first 
day  I  made  my  display  of  Parisian  fancy  goods,  baf- 
fles description.  One  had  the  hooping  cough,  and 
every  now  and  then  would  hoop  till  the  perspiration 
rolled  down  liis  face;  then  he  would  shriek  out  the 
daily  newspapers,  in   a  voice   like  a   calliope.     One 


Ennons  OF  s^becb^.  ^3 

dirty-faced  gourmand  site  papaws  till  he  had  to  ^ape 
for  breath,  and  would  shoot  the  seeds  and  throw  the 
skins  at  his  hundred  comrades,  half  of  them  coaiiug 
in  my  front  door.  Another,  dressed  in  ragged  jean, 
his  face  covered  with  soot,  played  the  Jew's- harp  hour 
after  hour,  with  as  much  pride  in  his  ability  as  Paga- 
nini  at  his  violin.  Another,  a  tall,  jaundice  visaged 
youth  with  an  cmhryo  beard  of  about  a  dozen  hairs, 
covered  nearly  to  his  heels  with  his  great-grandfa- 
ther's surlout,  in  the  lapel  of  which  was  pinned  a 
death's-head,  danced  upon  the  iron  cellar  door  till  it 
roared  like  distant  artillery. 

Then  there  were  many  other  ^^ partners  ^^  bearing 
such  sobriquets  as  "  Sore  Snoot,"  "  Pig  Eye,"  "  Lim- 
py,"  etc.,  improvising  irrational  songs,  boxing, 
wrestling,  indulging  in  raillery  and  ribald  jests, 
pitching  quoits,  meawing  like  cats,  howling  at  my 
'patrons  and  driving  reputable  patronage  away.  Every 
now  and  then  they  would  send  in  little,  saucy,  pre- 
cocious urchins,  who  offered  to  patronize  me  by  asking 
for  two  cents' worth  of  jujube  paste,  tolu  or  licorice^ 
or  some  Samaritan  salve  for  Jim  Biles'  sore  nose. 
At  last,  when  the  sun  had  reached  the  horizon,  as  a 
finale  of  the  day's  progress,  one  of  the  young  villains 
hurled  a  bowlder  through  my  French  plate-glass, 
which,  after  its  flight  through  a  lot  of  citrate  of  mag- 
nesia, cochineal  and  quinine,  finally  spilled  a  large 
bottle  of  red  ink  all  over  my  new  pharmacopoeia . 
Springing  over  the  debris,  I  rushed  to  the  door  with 


84  £:nnons  of  sTEEcn. 

iniplacable  anger  flashing  from  my  eyes.  But  one 
gliDce  at  that  iinperturhahh  crowd  showed  me  how 
impotent  I  was.  One  of  them  with  phicld  counte- 
nance and  stolid  iudiflference  simply  accosted  me  with, 
"  Say,  Mister,  are  you  going  to  see  the  '  J^aiad 
Queen  'to-night?  " 

I  left  that  store  in  less  than  a  fortnight. 

The  comptroller  was  appointed  by  the  government 
upon  the  supposition  that  he  was  conversant  with  the 
details  o^ finance;  bat  he  was  only  a  m-idiocre  finan- 
cier and  was  not  aware  of  the  deficit  in  the  finances^ 
until  the  conscience-stricken  defalcating  officer  ac- 
knowledged his  defalcation. 

The  emigrants  to  the  frontier  chose  a  beautiful 
spot  for  their  settlement;  but  they  found  that  the 
wells  dug  there  and  oa  the  contiguous  praines  had  a 
saline  taste  ;  so  they  were  obliged  to  bring  water 
from  the  mountainous  region  beyond,  by  means  of  a 
conduit. 

From  the  congeries  presented  to  the  professor,  he, 
at  his  leisure,  isolated  each  genus  and  gave  generic 
names  to  each  ;  and  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Igce- 
um  he  solicited  attention  to  his  data  and  the  truths 
he  had  deduced. 

The  handsome  contour  of  Madame  Gr's  face  has 
been  spoiled  by  an  excrescence  like  a  raspberry  on 
her  nasal  organ. 


EnnO^S    OF   STEECIT.  85 

Young  Philemon  after  reading  Lalla  Roohh,  La- 
ra^ Don  Juan^  The  Giaour^  the  productions  of  Mrs. 
Hemans,  and  a  few  others,  was  seized  with  the  deter- 
mination to  become  a  poet ;  but  he  has  only  succeed- 
ed in  becoming  a  poetaster,  without  any  ideas  o? pros- 
ody. More  metrical  excellence  and  sense  can  be 
found  in  the  distich: 

"  Mary,  Mary,  quite  contrary, 
How  does  your  garden  grow?  " 

than  in  any  of  the  products  of  his  brain  that  he  has 
given  us.  His  brothers,  Eben  and  Philander,  have 
become  stage-struck,  and  expect  to  excel  in  the  Pro- 
tean art.  Their  guardian,  himself  a  great  lover  of 
drama,  having  foolish  confidence  in  their  success, 
grants  them  plenary  indulgence  in  all  their  whims. 
They  are  habitues  of  the  theatre,  and  have  fitted  up 
a  suite  of  apartments  next  to  a  suit  of  rooms  occu- 
pied by  some  stock  actors,  with  whom  they  are  bound 
in  indissoluble  bonds  of  friendship.  There  they 
spend  the  day  in  practice,  and  if  you  should  call  at 
any  hour,  there  is  no  telling  what  will  present  itself 
to  you.  Perhaps  Macbeth  with  the  glamour  of  his 
eyes,  viewing  the  imaginary  gouts  of  blood  ;  or  Ban- 
quo  with  his  gory  locks  ;  or  some  knight  with  his 
cuirass  on  and  his  visor  down,  plunging,  without  a 
qualm,  his  carmine-stained  poniard  into  the  jugular 
of  some  patriot.  Possibly,  Othello  the  Moor,  King 
John  with  the  Magna  Charta,  or  a  legendary  warrior 
of  frightful  mien  with  his  falchion  drawn,  will  admit 


86  JEnnOfiS    OF  SPEECH. 

you.  Or  you  may  see  a  viscount  -^'xih  falcon^  a  ramp- 
crif  villain,  a  jocund  host,  or  an  irate,  splenetic  old 
man  with  spectacles,  pronouncing  with  senile  vehe- 
mence a  curse  upon  some  fragile  female  in  negligee 
before  him,  who  beseeches  the  aid  of  an  immohile 
statue  in  a  niche  in  the  wall.  You  may  get  there  in 
the  nick  of  time  to  save  Desdemona  by  an  expose  of 
lago's  villainy,  Xf>  rescue  Pythias  whom  Damon  holds 
by  the  nape  of  the  neck  on  the  threshold  of  eternity, 
or  to  restrain  the  suicidal  design  of  the  Mon'ague  by 
informing  him  that  the  fair  Capulet  is  only  under  the 
influence  of  a  soporific — not  dead.  You  nny  arrive 
soon  enough  to  arouse  the  womanhood  in  the  docile 
Kate,  making  her  less  docible,  and  talk  woman's 
rights  to  Petruchio,  making  him  more  lenient. 

And  you  will  find  the  guardian  of  these  promis- 
ing youths,  sitting  there  all  day  shouting  encore  to 
their  absurdities,  and  not  rational  enough  to  see  his 
indiscretion  in  permitting  their  frivol  if  i/. 

The  ennui,  recently  complained  of,  was  relieved  by 
an  invitation  to  a  party  given  by  the  Mtsdamcs  B., 
the  same  you  met  at  the  conversazione  of  the  church 
guild  The  ladies  received  their  guests  with  their 
usual  suavity.  Their  niece,  Rosamond,  recently  from 
Madrid,  was  the  attraction  of  the  eveniug;  she  wore 
an  elegant  moire  antique  with  a  profusion  of  Valen- 
ciennes ;  she  had  a  beautiful  set  of  jewelry — opal 
and  diamonds.  It  was  marvelous  how  her  tiny  hands 
flew  over  the  pianoforte.      Slie  sings  very  sweetly 


^fi^O'RS    OF   STEECIl.  87 

too  ;  her  voice  is  a  sort  of  mezzo-soprano.  Tlic 
nu'ive  Miss  Ursula  was  present,  nearly  smothered  in 
black  silk  and  guipure.  She  looks  much  prettier  in 
dishabille.  The  little  piquant  Miss  Irene,  with  her 
plaited  hair,  sang  with  a  voice  like  a  paroquet  her 
favorite,  "  Tassels  on  the  Boots."  That  disgusting 
youug  Leopold  was  there,  feeling  as  important  as  a 
Rothschild,  making  his  salams,  and  palavering  sotto 
voce  to  all  the  girls,  circulating  his  monogram  cards 
and  sporting  his  paste  pin  with  its  dazzling  facets. 
He  thinks  he  cuts  a  wide  swath. 

Late  in  the  evening  those  that  were  fond  of  Te.rp- 
sichorean  amusement  were  ushered  into  a  room  where 
the  tapestry  was  covered  and  there  spent  several  hours 
in  minuets,  waltzes   quadrilles,  etc. 

Tiie  topics  of  conversation  amongst  the  more  sen- 
sible during  the  evening  were  the  object  of  the  visit 
of  the  new  pre/a/e,  and  the  recent  speeches  of  Dis- 
raeli and  Thiers. 

Madame  B.  caused  a  good  deal  of  merriment  bj 
describing  an  improvement  in  her  cuisine  that  had 
been  introduced  that  day.  Bridget,  a  late  importa- 
tion from  Belfast,  who  had  charge  of  the  culinary 
department,  was  told  to  send  for  some  vermicelli  to 
put  in  the  soup,  but  she  ordered  spermaceti  instead. 

There  was  an  old  superstition  that  when  the  sac- 
ristan  caused  the  bell  in  the  cupola  to  toll  its  dolor- 
ous funeral  notes,  the  manes  of  former  friends  joined 


88  E^HonS   OF  ST'BECM. 

in  the  solemn  cortege^  and  gathering  around  the  grave 
moved  their  lips  in  inaudible  requiem^  and  wrote  in 
invisible  letters  upon  the  tomb,  omega. 

The  great  desideratum  in  the  successful  argument 
of  disputable  points,  is  the  possession  of  an  equable 
temper. 

A7pho7iso,  while  out  hunting  partridges,  fell  into  a 
slough.  Being  clothed  only  in  nainsook,  he  took  a 
severe  cold,  which  soon  resulted  in  febrile  symptoms. 

Dr.  Mastiffs  posthumous  monograph  on  "  Rabies  " 
will  soon  appear.  The  /ro^i^is^i'ece  represents  a  group 
of  dogs.  Next  to  thepre/ace  is  a  memoir  of  the  au- 
thor. It  was  his  own  design  to  have  "  Finis  "  placed 
upon  a  cut  of  a  tombstone.  It  almost  seems  that  he 
had  a  presentiment  of  his  death. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  dentist  gave  the  patient 
enough  letheon  to  produce  unconsciousness,  and  then 
applied  h.\s  forceps  to  the  oflfending  tooth.  Letheon, 
accented  on  the  first  syllable,  and  lethean  are  derived 
from  Lethe,  the  name  of  a  river  described  in  mythol- 
ogy, a  draught  from  which  caused  forgetfulness. 

Sulphurous  acid  is  gaseous,  not  liquid. 

It  is  reported  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  that  Basil 
S.,  whom  you  met  several  years  ago  at  Leipsic,  is 
dead.  He  lived  the  life  of  a  roue  for  some  years  in 
Paris  and  London,  and  turned  out  to  be  a  most  per- 
fidious villain.      In    the    latter    city   lie    committed 


EH^OiiS    OF   STEEC7T.  89 

many  lieinous  offenses  and  acts  of  subtle  knavery  that 
were  almost  without  precedent.  He  was  engaged  for 
a  long  time  in  the  manufacture  of  spurious  nione^  by 
a  new  process,  in  which  dies  were  taken  from  gutta- 
percha impressions.  He  had  purchased  the  services 
of  an  experienced  professor  of  metallurgy,  and  the 
produce  of  their  crime  would  have  been  immense,  if 
some  of  his  other  crimes  had  not  been  betrayed. 
Placards,  offering  a  large  reward  for  his  arrest,  were 
posted  all  over  the  city.  He  fled  to  Venice  where 
he  was  soon  afterward  drowned  by  falling  from  a 
gondola,  thus  cheating  the  gibbet  of  its  dues. 

The  foolish  lover,  Ivan,  rendered  desperate  be- 
cause his  rival  Darius  had  gained  the  precedence  in 
Marion  s  esteem,  resolved  to  commit  suicide  and 
rushed  toward  the  quai/  and  plunged  into  the  water. 
Some  fishermen  rescued  him  with  their  seine,  poured 
some  potheen  down  his  throat,  and  carried  him  home 
on  a  piece  of  tarpaulin.  His  sousing  cured  him  of 
his  folly,  but  was  a  poor  guerdon  for  his  faithfulness. 

The  Saracens,  taking  advantage  of  the  strategic 
point,  made  a  sudden  dash  into  the  territory  of  the 
usurper ;  while  a  detachment  houghed  the  horses  of 
the  enemy's  cavalry,  the  rest  proceeded  on  a  preda- 
tory raid  characterized  by  rapine  and  terior,  and  af- 
ter the  spoliation  of  the  villages,  and  the  burning  of 
the  granaries,  returned  to  their  own  possessions. 

Lionel,   prejudiced  against  the   world  on  account 


90  Enno^fi  or  s-peecii, 

of  onerous  cares,  concluded  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  his 
wealth  and  position  and  become  a  recluse.  His  little 
hovel  on  the  heather,  whitened  with  lime  which  he 
himself  slaked,  and  the  little  flower  garden  redolent 
of  spring,  present  a  strange  contrast  with  his  former 
mansion  and  magnificent  grounds. 

Eoa  answered  the  inquiry  of  the  French  gentle- 
man, *' Parlez-vous  fran§ais  ?  "  with  a  "Qui;"  but 
when  she  came  to  converse  with  him,  he  understood 
about  as  much  of  her  jpatois  as  he  did  of  Hindoo- 
stanee. 

There  is  a  fabulous  report  tbat  the  upas  tree  ex- 
hales a  subtile  vapor  that  is  fatal  to  aoiinal  life. 

Since  Joshuah.^^  obtained  his  lucrative  sinecure,  he 
ppends  his  time  in  riding  about  in  his  i^haeton  and 
readinoj  romances.  He  is  loth  to  acknowledge  that 
he  was  ever  a  plebeian  and  did  all  kinds  of  servile 
work.  He  is  confident  that  his  genealogy,  if  known, 
would  show  that  he  was  unto  a  manor  born,  and  that 
some  supposititious  child  robbed  him  of  his  rights. 

The  knight  dropped  his  wassail  cup  and  sprang  to 
the  assistance  of  the  ladies.  "  Gramercy,''  quoth 
they,  simultaneously. 

The  veterinary  physician  said  that  the  disease  was 
murrain. 

An  infinitesimal  quantity  of  yeast  excited  the  fer- 
mentation. 


iinnons  OF  sfi^Bcii.  91 

Augustine  studied  microscopy  just  long  enough  to 
learn  that  a  monad  is  one  of  the  simplest  kind  of 
minute  animalcules;  he  then  tried  chemistry  and 
mineralogy^  but  he  could  not  master  the  nomencla- 
ture; he  then  took  a  fancy  for  telegraphy,  but  soon 
abandoned  the  idea  of  becoming  a  telegraphist.  At 
lust  accounts,  he  apprenticed  himself  to  a  druggist, 
but  was  told  to  vamos  soon  after  making  up  a  lot  of 
Scidlitz  powders  with  oxalic  instead  of  tartaric  acid. 

Artemas  his  applied  for  a  patent  on  an  improved 
turbine  wheel. 

Mr.  B.,  recollecting  the  precedent  services  of  his 
servant,  advanced  him  money  enough  to  lift  the  lieu 
on  his  dwelling. 

The  lithographer  had  only  a  poor  melanofype  to 
copy  from,  but  he  succeeded  in  making  an  excellent 
print. 

'•  Thou  shalt  destroy  them  that  speak  leasing^^^  is 
found  in  the  sixth  verse  of  the  fifth  psalm. 

At  the  examination  in  orthoepjy,  Deborah  had  the 
following  words  given  to  her  :  contumely,  crinoline, 
feudal,  fetid,  fetor,  gerund,  gneiss,  gyrfalcon,  Tiarem, 
Hawaiian,  hygiene,  lariat,  leverage,  nonillion,  obliga- 
tory, platina,  platinum,,  psalmody , psychical,  purulent^ 
pyrites,  recherche,  resume,  sacerdotal^  sacrament^ 
schism.,  shekel,  stearine  and  troches. 


92  :E^nOftS    OF   STF^JSCS. 

The  objective,  me,  is  often  erroneously  used  instead 
of  the  nominative^  I,  in  answer  to  the  question — 
"Who  is  there?" 

In  the  dramatis  personce  of  ''  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,"  Oheron  and  Titania^  kiug  ^ud  queen  of  the 
fairies,  are  introduced. 

At  the  examination  in  geography,  Ada  was  re- 
quired to  draw  a  map  of  Asia,  which  would  have 
been  well  done,  if  she  had  not  drawn  Persia,  Af- 
ghanistan and  Beloochistan  nearly  twice  their  prop- 
er size.  She  was  then  asked  to  give  the  location  and 
length  of  the  Altai  and  Vosges  mountains,  and  the 
height  of  their  principal  peaks  ;  a  description  of  the 
Aral^  Adriatic  and  Caribbean  seas  ;  the  course  and 
length  of  the  Amoor  and  Yaiig-tse-hiang ;  and  the 
location  and  population  of  Valparaiso  {Chili),  Ban- 
tam, {Java),  Norivich,  (Eng.),  Pesth,  Quebec,  Val- 
enciennes, Neufchatel,  Nantes  and  Aix-la- Chapelle. 

Her  sister,  Frances,  was  told  to  draw  maps  of  Bue- 
nos Ayres  and  Otaheite,  and  to  bound  Venezuela  and 
Arkansas ;  to  give  the  length  and  direction  of  the 
Araguaij,  Juniata,  Kankakee,  Barbados  and  San 
Joaquin;  the  location  of  Cape  Agulhas;  the  situa- 
tion and  population  of  Bingen,  Calais,  Canton,  Aca- 
pulco,  Chuquisaca,  Delhi,  Dubuque,  Jeddo,  Quere- 
taro,  Truxillo,  Leicester  and  Vevay,  and  a  description 
of  Sumatra,  Zanzibar,  Barbadoes  and  the  Antilles. 

Sigismund  has  just  returned  from  YosemiteYoWQj, 


m^'ROnS    OF    STEECTl.  93 

Cecily,  Cliloe  and  Viola  have  just  passed  their 
examination  in  biography.  The  names  presented  to 
them  were  the  following  :  N.  S.  Adam  (Fr.),  G. 
Adam  (Ger.),  Beatrice  Cenci,  Bfucher,  Boccaccio, 
Anne  Boleyn,  Marco  Bozzaris,  Joseph  Buonaparte, 
D' Auhigni,  Dauhlgny,  Drouyn  de  Lhnya,  JiiareZj 
Lavater,  Marat,  Marion,  Catherine  de  Medici,  Moul- 
trie, Ovid,  Pliny,  Ponce  de  Leon  and  Richelieu. 


l^^-k-x*-^^ 


VIOLATED  RULES  OF  GRAMMAR 


Many,  who  claim  to  be  good  grammarians,  are  oc- 
casionally guilty  of  the  violation  of  certain  impor- 
tant rules.  Attention  is  solicited  to  a  few  of  the 
more  common  errors  of  this  nature. 

NUMBER. 

Certain  compounds  change  the  form  of  the  first 
word  in  plurali^ing,  as  :  court-martial,  brother -in-law, 
sister-in-law.  Plural,  courts-martial,  hrothcrs-in-law^ 
etc.  "John  has  three  brother-in-laws,"  then,  is  in- 
correct. 

But  tea-spoonful,  tahle-spoonful,  cupful,  pocketful, 
etc.,  are  not  considered  such  compounds  ;  therefore, 
"two  tea-spoonsCul  of  medicine"  and  "two-cupsful  of 
flour,"  should  be,  "  two  tea-spoonfuls  of  medicine," 
and  "  two  cupfuls  of  flour." 


94  Jiimons  OF  speech:. 

When  name  and  title  are  given,  with  a  numeral 
adjective  prefixed,  the  navixe  is  pluralized.  "  Are  the 
two  Misses  Wilson  at  home?  "  should  be,  "Are  the 
two  Miss  Wilsons  at  home  ?  "  But  when  the  nu- 
meral is  omitted  the  title  must  be  pluralized.  "Were 
the  Dr.  Browns  there  ?  "  should  be,  "  Were  the  Drs. 
Brown  there  ?  "  The  rule  has  been  given  that  the 
name  only  of  married  ladies  is  pluralized,  bat 
there  appears  to  be  no  reason  except  that  of  eu- 
phony :  the  Mrs.  Clarks  certainly  sounds  more  agree- 
ably than  the  Mistresses  Clark.  Iq  giving  the  plu- 
ral of  such  titles  as:  Hon..,  Rev..,  Squire  and  Capt.^ 
euphony  is  also  often  considered  ;  but  in  such  cases 
it  would  doubtless  be  better  to  add  the  numeral,  as : 
the  three  Hon.  Jachsons. 

EACH    OTHER — ONE    ANOTHER. 

Each  other  applies  to  two  ;  one  another  to  more 
than  two.  "  The  three  witnesses  contradicted  each 
other,"  and  "  the  two  men  accused  one  another,"  are 
incorrect. 

NEITHER,  NOT — NOR.- 

JVeither  and  not  are  followed  by  nor,  not  or. 
"Neither  James  or  Charles  will  come,"  and  "it  is 
not  white  or  black,"  are  incorrect. 

TO  BE,  UNITING  WORDS. 
Words  united  by  to  he,  referring  to  the  same  per- 
son, must  be  of  the  same  case. 

"It  is  me/'  "It  may  have  beeu  him,"  "  It  could 


:EnnOliS    OF   STEJECJT.  95 

not  be  her,"  and  ''  It  was  not  them,"  are  not  correct: 
I'f,  in  each  of  the  sentences,  is  nominaiive  crid  the 
other  pronouns  should  be  i,  /te,  she  and  the>j.  'I 
took  it  to  be  he,"  and  "  I  understood  it  to  be  they," 
are  also  wrong  ;  for  it  is  objective  in  both  instances, 
and  the  following  pronouns  should  be  him  and  them. 

THAN,  AS. 

Than  and  as  implying  comparison,  have  the  same 
case  after  as  before.  '*  He  loses  more  than  me," 
"John  knows  more  than  him"  and  "James  is  not  so 
tall  as  her,"  should  be,  "  He  loses  more  than  I  " 
(lose),  "John  knows  more  than  he"  (knows)  and 
'■  James  is  not  so  tall  as  she  "  (is  tall). 

WHO. 

Errors  connected  with  the  use  of  this  word  are 
very  common,  even  amongst  good  speakers. 

"  Who  did  you  see  ?  "  "  Who  do  you  know?  "  and 
"  Who  did  you  hear  ?  "  are  wrong  :  whom  should  be 
used,  for  it  is  the  object  of  the  transitive  verbs,  see, 
know  and  hear.  Who  in  such  sentences  as :  "  Who 
are  you  looking  at?"  and  "Who  are  you  writing 
to?"  should  likewise  be  changed  into  ivhom,  for  it  is 
the  object  of  the  prepositions  at  and  to. 

ADJECTIVES  AND  ADVERBS. 

Adjectives  are  often  erroneously  used  for  adverbs 
in  sentences  like  the  following:  "  This  is  an  uncom- 
mon good  portrait,"  "It  is  a  miserable  poor  paint- 


V 

96  E ft  It  on  S    or  STB  ECS. 

ing."       Uncommonly  good    and  miserably  jpoor  are 
right. 

Adverbs  are  still  more  commonly  used  for  adjec- 
tives. '•  Mary  looked  heautifulhj  at  the  party,"  and 
"  Janauschek  looked  majestically  on  the  stage,"  are 
incorrect,  for  it  is  intended  to  describe  the  appear- 
ance of  Mary  and  Janauschek,  not  their  manner  of 
looking  ;  therefore  the  adjectives  beautiful  and  ma- 
jestic should  be  used. 

When  two  objects  are  compared,  the  comparative 
degree  should  be  used.  "  William  is  the  heaviest  of 
the  two,"  and  "  Which  is  the  most  desirable — health 
or  wealth  ?  "  ought  to  be,  "  William  is  the  heavier 
of  the  two,"  and  "  Which  is  the  more  desirable — 
health  or  wealth  ?  " 

THESE,  THOSE. 

The  plural  demonstratives  these  and  tliose  are  often 
erroneously  used  with  singular  nouns,  a§  :  "I  don't 
like  these  kind  of  people,"  and  "  Those  sort  of 
things  are  very  embarrassing."  Kind  and  sort  are 
singular  and  should  have  this  and  that. 

INTO. 

Into^  not  in,  is  used  to  show  the  relation  between 
verbs  expressing  motion,  entrance,  change  of  state, 
etc.,  and  an  objective  case,  as:  "Come  into  the 
house,"  "Step  into  the  carriage,"  and  "Look  into 
the  room." 


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